Treat the Troika: Does Depression and Malnutrition affect Activities of Daily Living?−A Study among Elderly Soliga Tribes, b. r. Hills, Karnataka Narendran Meghana1,*, Kumar D Sunil2, Kulkarni Praveen3, Renuka M4, Mr Murthy Narayana5 1Postgraduate, Department of Community Medicine, JSS medical College, Mysuru 2Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, JSS medical College, Mysuru 3Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, JSS medical College, Mysuru 4Professor, Department of Community Medicine, JSS medical College, Mysuru 5Professor and Head of the Department Department of Community Medicine, JSS medical College, Mysuru *Corresponding Author: Dr. Meghana Narendran Postgraduate, Department of Community Medicine, JSS Medical College, Mysuru, Phone: 9886540333, Email: meghananaren21@gmail.com
Online published on 4 June, 2019. Abstract Background Tribal population in India are the most underprivileged and their problems depend on their remoteness from the rest of the communities. Among them, elderly are often deprived of nutritional and health care facilities and also depression many times be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Objective To assess the Socio-demographic profile, Depression, Nutritional status and Activities of daily living (ADL) among elderly. Method and Methodology This cross-sectional study was done in all the five tribal hamlets of Biligiriranga Hills, Karnataka for a period of two months. A pretested semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect details regarding socio-demographic characteristics and standard questionnaires like Standard of Living Index, Geriatric Depression Scale, Mini Nutritional Assessment and Katz Index of Independence in ADL. All persons 60 years and above residing in the house were included for study, the sample size was total of 132 participants. Result Among the study participants 59 (44.7%) males and 73 (55.3%) females. Forty one (31.1%) belonged to low SLI, 18 (13.6%) were suggestive of Depression, 77 (58.3%) were at Risk of Malnutrition and 31 (23.5%) were Malnourished. Forty five (34.1%) were underweight and 7 (5.3%) had decreased ADL. Conclusion The study showed increased risk for elderly malnutrition and most of them are underweight and few are suggestive of depression. There is a need for geriatric clinic that can take care of their physical and psychological needs and this together has a significant impact on their quality of life. Top Keywords Geriatric, Soliga tribes, depression, malnutrition. Top |