Mojtaba Lotfaliany1, Erin Hoare2, Felice N Jacka3, Paul Kowal4, Michael Berk5, Mohammadreza Mohebbi6. 1. Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. 2. Food &Mood Centre, Centre for Innovation in Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Treatment, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; Deakin University, IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia. 3. Food &Mood Centre, Centre for Innovation in Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Treatment, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; Deakin University, IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia. 4. Division of Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; Research Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, University of Newcastle, New Lambton Heights, New South Wales 2305, Australia; Chiang Mai University Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai, Thailand. 5. Deakin University, IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. 6. Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: m.mohebbi@deakin.edu.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Data from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were used to estimate the prevalence of depression in older adults in six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), namely China, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, and South Africa, and to examine the relationship between demographic and lifestyle characteristics and depression. METHOD: A total of 33,421 participants aged ≥ 50 years were included. A set of diagnostic questions from the World Mental Health Survey was used within SAGE to define depression. RESULTS: The crude population prevalence of depression was 7.4% [95%CI: 6.5%-8.3%] ranging from 1.5% in China to 15.2% in India. It was higher in females 8.6% [7.6%-9.6%] compared to males 6.1% [5.0%-7.2%]. The age-standardized prevalence of depression was 7.8% [6.3%-9.6%] in pooled data, 8.9% [6.9%-11.1%] in females and 6.6% [4.6%-9.0%] in males. Greater fruit (0.89[0.84-0.93]) and vegetable intake (0.94 [0.89-1.00]) was associated with a lower prevalence of depression. Furthermore, those who were older, female, underweight, and with lower education and lower wealth, had higher prevalence of depression. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design of this study precluded conclusions on causality. CONCLUSION: In nationally-representative samples of older adults in six LMICs, an average of one in every 13 participants suffered from depression. The prevalence of depression varied considerably between countries, sexes, and with wealth and educational disadvantage. Increased fruit and vegetable intake appeared to co-occur with significantly lower rates of depression, suggesting diet as a modifiable factor for addressing depression burden.
BACKGROUND: Data from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were used to estimate the prevalence of depression in older adults in six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), namely China, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, and South Africa, and to examine the relationship between demographic and lifestyle characteristics and depression. METHOD: A total of 33,421 participants aged ≥ 50 years were included. A set of diagnostic questions from the World Mental Health Survey was used within SAGE to define depression. RESULTS: The crude population prevalence of depression was 7.4% [95%CI: 6.5%-8.3%] ranging from 1.5% in China to 15.2% in India. It was higher in females 8.6% [7.6%-9.6%] compared to males 6.1% [5.0%-7.2%]. The age-standardized prevalence of depression was 7.8% [6.3%-9.6%] in pooled data, 8.9% [6.9%-11.1%] in females and 6.6% [4.6%-9.0%] in males. Greater fruit (0.89[0.84-0.93]) and vegetable intake (0.94 [0.89-1.00]) was associated with a lower prevalence of depression. Furthermore, those who were older, female, underweight, and with lower education and lower wealth, had higher prevalence of depression. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional design of this study precluded conclusions on causality. CONCLUSION: In nationally-representative samples of older adults in six LMICs, an average of one in every 13 participants suffered from depression. The prevalence of depression varied considerably between countries, sexes, and with wealth and educational disadvantage. Increased fruit and vegetable intake appeared to co-occur with significantly lower rates of depression, suggesting diet as a modifiable factor for addressing depression burden.
Authors: Tianli Feng; Xiyuan Jia; Lucy Pappas; Xiaojun Zheng; Teresa Shao; Letao Sun; Charlie Weisberg; Madeline Lu Li; Scott Rozelle; Yue Ma Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-05-16 Impact factor: 4.614