Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Community-Dwelling Older Adults from Rural North India: Prevalence, Severity, and Gender Differences

Abstract

Introduction: The number of older adults is increasing globally, accompanied by a growing concern regarding their mental health. Depression, anxiety, and stress can adversely affect the quality of life of older individuals, with the impact potentially greater in rural communities where access to healthcare and mental health services may be limited.
Aim: To describe the socio-demographic profile of older adults and assess the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, and stress using the DASS-21.
Methods and materials: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out between January and June 2024 among 384 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years in a rural district of North India. Participants were selected through multistage sampling. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0. Associations between categorical variables were examined using the chi-square test, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: Of the 384 participants, 205 (53.4%) were male and 179 (46.6%) were female. Most participants were married (65.9%), while 60.9% belonged to the lower socioeconomic class. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was 25.5, 34.9, and 26.0%, respectively. Females showed greater severity across all three psychological domains, with statistically significant gender differences (p < 0.05). Depression showed a positive correlation with anxiety (r = 0.68) and stress (r = 0.72), while anxiety was positively correlated with stress (r = 0.75); all correlations were statistically significant (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Depressive, anxiety, and stress-related symptoms were prevalent among community- dwelling older adults in the rural North Indian study population, with females experiencing greater severity across the three domains.