Depression and anxiety among middle-aged women: A community-based study

• Main Authors: Priya Bansal, Anurag Chaudhary, R K Soni, Sarit Sharma, Vikram Kumar Gupta, Pushapindra Kaushal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015-01-01
• Series: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
• Subjects: Anxiety; depression; middle-aged women
• Online Access: http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249-4863;year=2015;volume=4;issue=4;spage=576;epage=581;aulast=Bansal

Background: Anxiety and depressive disorders constitute a substantial proportion of the global burden of disease and are projected to form the second most common cause of disability by 2020. Objective: To assess the level of depression and anxiety among middle age women and the possible factors behind it. Materials and Methods: A total of 180 women aged 40-60 years were selected by proportionate sampling technique. Age, education, marital status, socioeconomic status, age at marriage, age at menopause, weight and height were noted. Zung-self-rating scales were used for calculating levels of depression and anxiety in these women. The data were analyzed by using statistical software SPSS. Results: The level of syndromal depression and anxiety was found to be 86.7% and 88.9%, respectively. Most of the subjects had the moderate type of depression (49.5%) followed by mild (29.4%) and severe depression (7.8%). While in case of anxiety, most of the subjects (69.4%) had a mild form of anxiety and 17.8% had moderate anxiety level. A significant difference was observed in the level of depression with respect to marital status (P = 0.009) and in the level of anxiety with respect to age (P = 0.021) in the study subjects. On applying logistic regression, none of the factors studied were found to be significant variables for anxiety or depression in the study population. Conclusion: Depression and anxiety are prevalent among the middle-aged women in rural Punjab. Provision of mental health services in this group is essential.