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Urbanicity of Residence and Depression Among Older Adults in Ghana and South Africa

Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: As the primary cause of disability worldwide, depression is a significant contributor to global morbidity and mortality and often disproportionately affects older adults. Several studies have demonstrated a link between urban residence and depression, but few studies have examined this association among older adult populations, and even fewer have studied it within an African context. Given that African societies are aging and urbanizing at rapid rates, this study aimed to assess the relationship between urbanicity and depression using the Ghana and South Africa samples of the World Health Organization Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) wave 1 (2007–2008). Depression over the past 12 months was measured using self-reported treatment and depressive symptoms based on ICD-10 criteria in 4209 Ghanaian and 3149 South African adults 50 years and older residing in their current location for over one year. The 12-month prevalence of depression was 7.5% and 4.0% in Ghana and South Africa, respectively; and 41.1% and 65.5%, respectively, lived in urban areas. Comparing urban to rural residents, the unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for depression in South Africa was 1.46 (95% CI: 0.94–2.29), with an adjusted OR of 1.08 (95% CI: 0.66–1.76) in multivariable analysis. The unadjusted and adjusted ORs for Ghana were 0.92 (95% CI: 0.61–1.39) and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.60–1.47), respectively. Although these results do not support a significant difference in 12-month depression likelihood between urban and rural SAGE participants in Ghana or South Africa, they suggest that the direction of effects may differ in each setting.
DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.132
Authors: D. Adjaye-Gbewonyo, G. Rebok, J.J. Gallo, A. Gross, S. Ahmed, C. Underwood
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2728069048
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