摘要："Introduction: Depression among the elderly often remains undetected and thereby untreated. Depression results in cognitive impairment and compromises their quality of life. Objective of the study was to determine the magnitude of depression among the elderly and study the factors associated with it. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among 230 elderly. Data was collected by house to house visit to elicit information on socio demographic profile. Geriatric depression scale (GDS-30) was used to assess the burden of depression. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 66.33 years. Almost 59.6% were depressed, 79.5% had mild depression and 20.4% had severe depression. Depression was more among the females, unemployed and those belonging to class V socio – economic status. Conclusion: High magnitude of depression was observed among the elderly. Identification of the risk groups will thus facilitate formulation of health care services for early identification of depression and management."
