Mental health and social relations in older rural population.

OBJECTIVES: To describe and analyze the influence of social relations in the elderly in the rural setting with depression. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SAMPLE: Patients (N=787) over 64 years, non-institutionalized who belong to the Basic Health Zone Substations (Zaragoza), a representative rural area of Aragon. The following variables were evaluated: diagnosis of depression, comorbidity, taking antidepressants, sociodemographic variables and use of social resources (OARS questionnaire), instrumental activities of daily living (Lawton-Brody test) and basics daily living activities (Barthel test). RESULTS: According to multivariate analysis, the risk of suffering depression is higher in women (OR=5.6 CI=3.0- 10.5), patients with comorbidity (OR=12.2 CI=5.1-29.2), people who speak by phone with other at least 5 times a week (OR=3.1 CI=1.7-5.5), who have no one to confide in (OR=3.9 CI=1.8-8.5), sometimes feeling alone (OR=2.7 CI=1.0-4.8), they do not see their family as much as they want to (OR=2.1 CI=1.3-4.4) and who are dependent on others for daily living activities (OR= 2.6 CI=1.5-4.6). CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm the findings in other studies and provide clues to guide interventions aimed at improving the quality of life of the elderly.

Salud mental y relaciones sociales en población mayor rural / Mental health and social relations in older rural population

Objetivos. Describir y analizar la influencia de las relaciones sociales en la depresión en personas mayores. Métodos. Diseño: Estudio transversal. Muestra: Mayores de 64 años (N=787), incluidos en la Zona Básica de Salud de Casetas (Zaragoza), un entorno rural representativo de Aragón. Variables evaluadas: Diagnóstico de depresión, consumo de antidepresivos, variables sociodemográficas y de recursos sociales (cuestionario OARS), así como actividades de la vida diaria instrumentales (test de Lawton-Brody) y básicas (test de Barthel). Resultados. En el análisis multivariante el riesgo de padecer depresión es mayor entre las mujeres (OR=5,6 IC=3,0-10,5), los que presentan comorbilidad (OR=12,2 IC=5,1-29,2), hablan por teléfono con otras personas 5 o más veces/semana (OR=3,1 IC=1,7-5,5) no tienen a nadie en quien confiar (OR=3,9 IC=1,8-8,5), alguna vez se encuentran solos(OR=2,7 IC=1,0-4,8) no ve a su familia/amigos tanto como le gustaría (OR=2,1 IC=1,3-4,4) y es dependiente para las actividades de la vida diaria (OR=2,6 IC=1,5-4,6).Conclusiones. Estos resultados confirman los hallazgos obtenidos en otros estudios y proporcionan claves para orientar las intervenciones dirigidas a mejorar la calidad de vida de los mayores (AU)

Objectives. To describe and analyze the influence of social relations in the elderly in the rural setting with depression. Methods. Design: A cross-sectional study. Sample: Patients (N=787) over 64 years, non-institutionalized who belong to the Basic Health Zone Substations (Zaragoza), a representative rural area of Aragon. The following variables were evaluated: diagnosis of depression, comorbidity, taking antidepressants, sociodemographic variables and use of social resources (OARS questionnaire), instrumental activities of daily living (Lawton-Brody test) and basics daily living activities (Barthel test).Results. According to multivariate analysis, the risk of suffering depression is higher in women (OR=5.6 CI=3.0-10.5), patients with comorbidity (OR=12.2 CI=5.1-29.2),people who speak by phone with other at least 5 times aweek (OR=3.1 CI=1.7-5.5), who have no one to confide in(OR=3.9 CI=1.8-8.5), sometimes feeling alone (OR=2.7CI=1.0-4.8), they do not see their family as much as they want to (OR=2.1 CI=1.3-4.4) and who are dependent on others for daily living activities (OR= 2.6 CI=1.5-4.6). Conclusions. These results confirm the findings in other studies and provide clues to guide interventions aimed at improving the quality of life of the elderly (AU)