Determination of depression and anxiety levels among elderly over 65 years old living in Al-Nasiriyah city

Anxiety and depression are widespread among the elderly, and can have serious consequences, such as reduced quality of life and mortality. With the importance of detecting anxiety and depression in the elderly and understanding their impact on health behaviors, chronic disease management and quality of life, studies in this field have become increasingly important. Considering the scarcity of such studies in Iraq, this study investigating depression, anxiety and stress levels in the elderly population is of critical importance. People over the age of 65 living in the city of Nasiriyah were included in this study. The study included 500 persons from the surrounding area who volunteered to take part. And the data was gathered through face-to-face interviews. The Socio demographic Survey Form and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) were used to collect data. The data of the study was collected between July 1, 2022 and December 15, 2022. Data were analyzed in IBM SPSS 26 program. The data were not normally distributed, so nonparametric tests were used to determine the relationship between socio demographic characteristics and DASS scale scores There was a significant difference between the participants' married status, education level, monthly income, smoking, and depression, anxiety, and stress scale scores, according to the data acquired. However, no significant link was found between the factors of age, gender, place of residence, and alcohol use habit. According to the findings of the research, although the individuals had mild depression (41.4%), their anxiety levels were severe (47.4%) and they had a mild to moderate level of stress (30.2%). Since anxiety, depression and stress levels are significantly higher in widowed and divorced people, smokers, illiterate or low-education elderly people, these elderly people should be prioritized as a risk group in the provision of health services and psychosocial support should be provided.