Research Abstract: Free Paper - Poster Presentation Only Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Prevalence and factors associated with nursing home residents being at risk of depression: findings from the Frailty In Residential Sector over Time (FIRST) study (#105)

Tomomichi Sakai 1 2 , Agathe Daria Jadczak 1 , Ashna Khalid 1 , Ronaldo Piovezan 1 3 , Shalem Leemaqz 4 , Renuka Visvanathan 1 3
  1. Adelaide Geriatrics Training and Research with Aged Care (GTRAC) Centre, Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  2. Department of Community Healthcare and Geriatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
  3. Aged and Extended Care Services, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  4. SAHMRI Women and Kids, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Aims: Depression is common amongst nursing home residents. In care settings such as nursing homes, a time-efficient screening tool to identify depression risk such as the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), may be preferred. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of nursing home residents at risk of depression and identify factors significantly associated with this depression risk.

Methods: Cross-sectional secondary analysis involving 545 residents from 12 nursing homes in South Australia. Being at risk of depression was identified using a cut-off score ≥3 for the PHQ-2. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify significantly associated factors.

Results: Residents’ mean age was 87.65 (standard deviation 7.26) years and 73.0% were female. One fifth of residents (n=108 or 19.8%) were at risk of depression. Age (Odds ratio [OR] 0.96; 95% confidence interval 0.93 - 0.99), Pain Assessment in Advance Dementia (PAINAD) score (OR1.55; 95% CI 1.11 - 2.16), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.03 - 1.13), and 38-Item Frailty Index (FI) score (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.03 - 1.10) were significantly associated with being at risk of depression.

Conclusions: One in five residents was at risk of depression. Younger age as well as higher pain, higher daytime sleepiness and higher frailty was associated with being at risk of depression. To better manage depression in nursing homes, clinicians should consider optimising pain management, reducing daytime sleepiness and implementing interventions to better manage frailty.