Asres Bedaso1,2, Nibretie Mekonnen1, Bereket Duko3. 1. College of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia. 2. Australian Centre for Public and Population Health Research, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia. 3. School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of depression among elderly people in Africa. METHOD: We have searched CINAHIL, PubMed, SCOPUS and Psych-INFO databases to identify important observational studies which reported the prevalence of depression among the elderly. We used a random-effects model due to reported heterogeneity among the included studies. The publication bias was examined by using Egger's test, visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots and adjusted using Duval and Tweedie's Trim and Fill analysis. We have meta-analysed the pooled estimates of depression from primary studies by adjusting for publication bias. We used Cochran's Q and the I2-tests to measure heterogeneity across the studies. RESULT: A total of 23 studies conducted in Africa were included in the current systematic review and meta-analysis, representing a total of 14, 350 elderly population. The pooled prevalence of depression among elderly people in Africa was estimated to be 26.3% (95% CI; 22.2, 30.4%). The estimated pooled prevalence of depression among the elderly in Africa was much higher (43.1%) in studies that used a screening tool to measure depression when compared to studies that used a diagnostic tool (24.2%). Also, the prevalence of depression among female elderly participant (43.10%) was higher than that of male elderly participant (30.90%). CONCLUSION: One in five elderly population in Africa were depressed, which poses serious health concerns. Timely and targeted screening of depression among the elderly and evidence-based interventions were highly recommended.
OBJECTIVE: The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of depression among elderly people in Africa. METHOD: We have searched CINAHIL, PubMed, SCOPUS and Psych-INFO databases to identify important observational studies which reported the prevalence of depression among the elderly. We used a random-effects model due to reported heterogeneity among the included studies. The publication bias was examined by using Egger's test, visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots and adjusted using Duval and Tweedie's Trim and Fill analysis. We have meta-analysed the pooled estimates of depression from primary studies by adjusting for publication bias. We used Cochran's Q and the I2-tests to measure heterogeneity across the studies. RESULT: A total of 23 studies conducted in Africa were included in the current systematic review and meta-analysis, representing a total of 14, 350 elderly population. The pooled prevalence of depression among elderly people in Africa was estimated to be 26.3% (95% CI; 22.2, 30.4%). The estimated pooled prevalence of depression among the elderly in Africa was much higher (43.1%) in studies that used a screening tool to measure depression when compared to studies that used a diagnostic tool (24.2%). Also, the prevalence of depression among female elderly participant (43.10%) was higher than that of male elderly participant (30.90%). CONCLUSION: One in five elderly population in Africa were depressed, which poses serious health concerns. Timely and targeted screening of depression among the elderly and evidence-based interventions were highly recommended.
Authors: Laura-Marie Stieglitz; Till Bärnighausen; Germana H Leyna; Patrick Kazonda; Japhet Killewo; Julia K Rohr; Stefan Kohler Journal: J Multimorb Comorb Date: 2022-02-22
Authors: Patrick N Mwangala; Carophine Nasambu; Ryan G Wagner; Charles R Newton; Amina Abubakar Journal: J Int AIDS Soc Date: 2022-09 Impact factor: 6.707