Comparison of depression, anxiety, somatization, quality of life and perceived social support among elderly private nursi̇ng home residents versus elderly people living at home in Istanbul province

ABSTRACT Aim: The primary objective of the present study was to compare elderly private nursing home residents and elderly people living at home in terms of depression, anxiety, somatization, quality of life and perceived social support, while the secondary objective was to evaluate the association of perceived social support and quality of life with depression, anxiety, somatization and socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: Elderly private nursing home residents and elderly people living at home were included based on their voluntary participation in this study conducted between Dec 2013 and May 2014 in Istanbul province.Data on sociodemographic characteristics, Geriatric Depression Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Somatosensory Amplification Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Supportand World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF were collected via application of questionnaire forms via face to face interview method. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson chi-square test, student's t-test, Pearson correlation analysis and ANCOVA. Results: Our findings revealed significantly higher scores for depression, whereas significantly lower scores for anxiety, perceived social support and physical and psychological domains of quality of life inelderly nursing home residents as compared with elderly people living at home. Higher percentage of nursing home residents than controls identified that they had social support. Somatization was determined to be associated with neitherthe perceived social support nor the quality of life, while a positive correlation was noted between perceived social support andquality of life along with a negative correlation of depression with perceived social support and quality of life in both groups. Conclusion: In conclusion, in agreement with data from the literature, our findings revealed significantly higher scores for depression, whereas lower scores for perceived social support and physical and psychological domains of quality of life in elderly nursing home residents than in elderly people living at home. Further data from future larger scale epidemiological studies are needed for the development of appropriate therapeutic and preventive measures regarding mental health condition (mental status /mental state) of nursing home residents. Key Words: Nursing Home; Depression; Anxiety; Somatization; Perceived social support; Quality of life.