Factors Related to Depression Among the Elderly: A Case Study in Lampang Province, Thailand

The purposes of this study were 1) to assess the depressive symptoms among the elderly in Lampang province, Thailand. 2) to examine the factors associated with depression. This study was a cross-sectional study conducted included 87 elderly aged greater than or equal to 60 years. Study instruments included the Suan Prung stress test-20 (SPST-20), the generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire (GAD-7), the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Data collection was by face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used to determine the association between variables, and P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean (standard deviation) for depressive symptoms was 3.79 ± 2.61. Psychological factors are significantly associated with depressive symptoms all variables, including anxiety, stress, and sleep quality. This emphasized the need for more mental health care and care services for the elderly.