Relationship Between Depression and Daily Activities Among Older Adults in Zahedan, Iran, 2024

Background and Purpose:The inability to perform daily activities can have detrimental effects, such as reduced quality of life and social participation, and is a risk factor for anxiety and depression.Therefore, this study aimed to determining depression and its relationship with activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among older adults in Zahedan 2024. Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted on 324 elderly individuals aged 60 and above in Zahedan in 2024.Sampling was performed using a cluster and multi-stage method.Data were collected using a questionnaire with four parts, including the socio-demographic, the geriatric depression scale-15 (GDS-15), the ADL questionnaire and the IADL questionnaire.Depression categories were defined by GDS-15 scores: 0-4 (normal), 5-9 (moderate), and 10-15 (severe).Data analysis was conducted using STATA software, version 17 with the chi-square test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and linear regression analysis.A significance level of 0.05 was considered. Results:The mean age of subjects was 70.8418.8(60 to 99 years).In terms of depression, 100 subjects (34%) had moderate to severe depression.Regarding the performance of ADL and IADL, 30 subjects (9.3%) and 159 subjects (49.1%) had dependence, respectively.Statistical analysis showed that depression has a significant negative correlation with ADL (r=-0.493,P<0.001) and IADL (r=-0.544,P<0.01), indicating that higher levels of depression are associated with lower functional independence.Regression analysis further identified ADL/IADL performance, gender, marital status, education, and socioeconomic status as significant predictors of depression, explaining 58% of the variance (R=0.58,P<0.05). Conclusion:The findings demonstrate that independence in ADL and IADL, along with some sociodemographic factors play a crucial role in predicting depression among older adults.Therefore, by creating a supportive environment and providing appropriate opportunities, the quality of life of the elderly can be improved, their sense of satisfaction and happiness can be increased, and depression can be reduced.