Depression, loneliness, and poor nutrition among elderly people in Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Background The growth of the elderly population and the burden of health problems have created increased vulnerability for the elderly in Nepal. This study aimed to assess key aspects of elderly health, namely, depression, loneliness, and nutrition, among the elderly in Nepal. Methods In this study 360 people aged 60 years and older from communities surrounding Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Nepal, were selected, and multistage cluster sampling probability proportionate to size was used. Data were collected on sociodemographic factors, depression, health-related factors, and nutritional status. Depression, loneliness, and nutritional status were assessed via the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tool, and the Modified Jong-Gierveld scale, respectively. The data were presented as percentages; chi-square tests and F tests were performed to assess associations between variables. Regression analysis was performed to evaluate the associations between depression and the other variables of the study. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results In the study population, 27% of the participants had depression, and 6.1% had severe depression. Approximately 67% were experiencing loneliness, and nearly 25% reported severe loneliness. About 48.9% were considered socially isolated. The prevalence of malnutrition and at risk of malnutrition was 13% and 45%, respectively. An increased likelihood of depression in the elderly was found in the following categories: being female (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.07–3.92), financially dependent (OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.28–6.27), experiencing loneliness (OR 22.78, 95% CI 7.14–72.60), being malnourished (OR 18.08, 95% CI 6.82– 47.94), belonging to middle, rich, and very rich groups in wealth quintiles (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.08–0.56), (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.05–0.39), (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.08–0.55), and experiencing chronic pain (OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.50–7.06). Conclusion This study provides unique information on depression, loneliness and the state of nutrition among the elderly population in urban areas of Nepal. Female sex, rich wealth quintile, financial dependency, loneliness, and malnutrition were significantly associated with depression. This study highlights the need for geriatric health assessments and public health interventions to address the main health issues of the elderly population.