Prevalence and Correlates of Common Mental Disorders among the Rural Elderly in Puducherry, South India: A Cross-sectional Community-based Study

BACKGROUND: Demographic transition has led to rethinking of strategies that are in place to address health issues of the elderly. A study was done to estimate the prevalence and correlates of common mental disorders (CMDs) among the rural elderly in Puducherry. This would help prioritize and plan opportunistic screening for CMDs among the elderly at the primary care level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted among all the elderly, n = 243 (60 years and above), from one of the four villages catered by a rural health center in Puducherry. Data were collected at home from subjects using a questionnaire on (1) sociodemographic details and (2) CMDs using the general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent correlates of CMDs. RESULTS: A total of 243 subjects were studied. Women constituted 63% of the study subjects. The univariable analysis showed that the odds of having CMDs was higher among women (odds ratio [OR] =1.76 [1.03–2.97]), widowed elderly (OR = 2.44 [1.46–4.11]), and among those with a per capita per month income less than USD 19.6 (USD 19.6 to USD 9.9: OR: 4.02 [1.22–13.22]; less than USD 9.9: OR: 3.67 [1.008–13.34]). Elderly with an education of upper primary level (OR: 0.37 [0.33–0.15]) and above (OR: 0.22 [0.22–0.06]) had lower odds of having CMDs compared to those with no formal education. On multiple logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for other confounders, widowed elderly were found to have 2.1 times the odds of having MDs as opposed to elderly with living spouse (OR: 2.107 [CI: 1.09–4.06]). CONCLUSIONS: Fifty-one percent of the elderly in our sample suffered from CMD. Widowhood emerged as the single independent predictor of CMDs in this study population.