Depression in geriatric population in urban slums of Mumbai.

A community based study was conducted in an urban slum of Mumbai to assess the epidemiological factors associated with geriatric population and depression. A sample size of 196 was taken according to Lots quality technique, including all elderly above 60 years of age in the study area. Depressed elderly (using Geriatric Depression Scale) constituted 45.9% of the study population and was more in females (57.8%, p < 0.05). The significant variables associated with depression were poor socio-economic status, marital status, non-working or dependency and illiteracy (p < 0.05). Depressed elderly were more inclined towards substance abuse (58.13%), had disturbed sleep patterns (61.6%) and mostly suffered from acute/chronic illness (p < 0.05).