SHAH ALAM, Sept 3 — Serious attention should be given to women with symptoms of depression to ensure they can enjoy their twilight years positively and productively, said experts.
A psychogeriatric specialist at Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital, Dr Layuza Aliasad said this because the 2018 National Health and Morbidity Survey found that one in 10 senior citizens in Malaysia had symptoms of depression.
She said the Covid-19 pandemic, which is plaguing the world, including Malaysia, has indirectly increased the tendency of senior citizens to experience depression because they could not meet with their children and grandchildren who lived far away from them.
“It is difficult to diagnose depression among the elderly compared to those in the adult group because those in the adult group are more open to admit whether they are sad or depressed,” she told Bernama.
She said symptoms that could associate with depression among senior citizens, included loss of appetite, weight loss and fatigue, which are characteristics similar to those having chronic illnesses.
She said other characteristics of depression included body pain with no clear cause, always feel tired, lost interest to carry out activities, including in self-grooming and lack focus, which made them forget easily.
“Society sometimes misinterpret that a senior citizen is senile when the person forgets, when it could be a sign of depression,” she said, adding that it was important for family members to evaluate the changes in their elderly family members and to provide them with emotional support.
The senior citizens should not be allowed to feel lonely, she said.
She said there are many factors that can cause senior citizens to feel depressed, including if they have chronic diseases, going through physical changes like having to have their body parts amputated due to uncontrolled diabetic complications and uncontrolled consumption of traditional medicines that contained steroid, with family history of depression.
Dr Layuza said senior citizens should avoid feeling depressed by adopting a health lifestyle, including by performing suitable exercise regularly, having a balanced diet and often interact with family members and surrounding community.
“With the constraints brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, technology must be used in the best possible way to communicate with family members as this indirectly helps to balance their emotional needs,” she said.
Based on the 2018 National Health and Morbidity Survey, she said, besides senior citizens, other groups with a tendency to experience depression are individuals without a life partner including single people, widower, widow and those who lost their partners.
The same survey also found that women and rural residents are more prone to depression.
— Bernama
