Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Gloria de L. Bezares¹, Ruth Ríos², Ana Luisa Davila¹, and Mildred Vera¹. (1) School of Public Health, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR 00936, (787)758-2525, gdlourdes@hotmail.com, (2) School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, PO BOX 365067, San Juan, PR 00936

Background: Major Depression has been identified as the most common mental health problem among people 65 years and older representing a serious public health issue. There are no studies that evidence the mental health characteristics of Puerto Rican elderly, as well as, their patterns in health services utilization. Objective: This study compares determinants of ambulatory care use between elderly with and those without depression symptoms as assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Methods: A secondary data analysis was done using data from the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions (PREHCO) study. The sample included 4,670 non-institutionalized persons representative of the elderly population in Puerto Rico. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were performed. Results: The depression prevalence in the sample was 18.4%, where 20.4% of the elderly reported moderate or severe symptoms of depression in the last week prior the interview. From the sample, 87.0% indicated visiting a physician in the last year with 7.2 mean visits. Elderly who had ever been diagnosed with depression were 2.3 more likely to make physician visits (OR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.63- 3.38), and show a greater number of visits to these professionals (ß = .749, p=.004). Conclusions: The results of this study show that one of five elderly in Puerto Rico could have been diagnosed with depression, could be displaying depressive symptoms, or could have experienced the combination of both. The high prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms shows the need to determine whether the health system is meeting the needs of this population.

Learning Objectives: