Abstract:
Background: Prevalence of depression is higher among older adults 60 years in the world.
Depression is a serious medical illness that negatively affect physical health and psychological
health. The association between quality of life (QoL) and depression in institutionalized older
adults has not been adequately studied in Sri Lanka.
Objectives: To assess the association between depression and QoL among institutionalized
older adults in Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in five elderly homes in
Kurunegala district. The population was composed of 164 residents and their socio demographic data were collected by using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Geriatric
depression, QoL and mental status were assessed by using Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS),
World Health Organization Quality of life-Bref (WHOQOL-BREF) and Mini Mental State
Examination (MMSE) scale. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25.0.
Results: A total of 164 older adults were recruited for the study. According to MMSE, the
sample of 56 (34.1%) was excluded as their cognitive impairment. Other 108 (65.9%) of subject
were used as the final sample. The majority (n=64, 59.3%) of study sample was in the age
category of 70-79 years and 63.9% were female. About 69% of institutionalized older adults
had depression. Among them, 35% had mild depression, 25% had moderate depression and 9%
had severe depression. The mean (SD) of the total QoL scores was higher in older adults
without depression compared to older adults with depression [57.6 (±3.7) vs 40.0 (±3.9),
p<0.004].
Conclusions: This study found that there is a relationship between depression and QoL among
institutionalized older adults in Kurunegala district. Therefore, QoL among older adults can be
improved by improving their psychological health status. Furthermore, these study findings can
be used as a baseline to plan preventive strategies for enhancing health status of the study
population.
