Cognitive Functioning among Elders with Symptoms of Depression: The Case of Two Selected Institutionalized Care Centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

KbũĞcƟǀĞƐ͗ Old age is accompanied by ĚŝīĞƌĞnƚ forms of physical and psychological problems. This study aimed to ŝnvĞƐƟŐĂƚĞ cŽŐnŝƟvĞ ĨƵncƟŽnŝnŐ among elders with symptoms of depression. Methods: This study employed a cƌŽƐƐͲƐĞcƟŽnĂů ĚĞƐcƌŝƉƟvĞ survey. In this study, 116 ƉĂƌƟcŝƉĂnƚƐ were purposefully selected out of 148 elders from two ŝnƐƟƚƵƟŽnĂůŝnjĞĚ care centers in Addis Ababa with inclusive criteria. The instruments of data cŽůůĞcƟŽn were GDS-15 and MMSE. Mean, Standard ĚĞvŝĂƟŽn͕ t-test, ANOVA and Pearson cŽƌƌĞůĂƟŽn cŽĞĸcŝĞnƚ were used as methods of data analysis. Results: This study showed that the elders had high rate of depression (68.1%). In ĂĚĚŝƟŽn͕ 87.1% of elders had declined cŽŐnŝƟvĞ ĨƵncƟŽnŝnŐ͘ Similarly, the study indicated that there was ƐƚĂƟƐƟcĂůůy ƐŝŐnŝĮcĂnƚ inverse ƌĞůĂƟŽnƐŚŝƉ between depression and cŽŐnŝƟvĞ ĨƵncƟŽnŝnŐ (r=-0.48, p<0.01). Elders without partners had manifested higher symptoms of depression. Conclusion: The ĮnĚŝnŐ revealed that depression and cŽŐnŝƟvĞ decline were higher among the elders. Females had lower cŽŐnŝƟvĞ ĨƵncƟŽnŝnŐ compared to their male counterparts. An increased age and lower level of literacy were associated with lower cŽŐnŝƟvĞ ĨƵncƟŽnŝnŐ and higher symptoms of depression and the married elders had higher score in MMSE compared to others. We suggest that further research is needed to be conducted on nŽnͲŝnƐƟƚƵƟŽnĂůŝnjĞĚ elders.