Depression and Associated Factors in Residents of a Health Care Institution for the Elderly

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of depression among residents of a health care institution for the elderly and to identify factors associated with it. The subjects were 44 elderly persons who had resided in a health care institution for the elderly for 3 months or more. The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia was used to evaluate depression. The results showed that 50% of the residents exhibited mild to moderate depression and that visual impairment, hypochondriac symptoms, grooming ability, and social cognition ability were significantly associated with it. These results suggested that rehabilitative interventions focused on grooming and social cognition may prevent or mitigate the depression of residents of health care institutions for the elderly. However, a longitudinal study is necessary to elucidate case-effect relationships. (C) 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.