Depression: The Essential Problem that Should be Concerned in Older Adults with Non-Communicable Diseases

Abstract

Depression is a common mental disorder among older adults with non-communicable diseases. In the case of long-term treatments, this may pose psychological, emotional, and social impacts, such as high dependency, low work performance, low income, and a reduced sense of social status. People who are aging may feel disheartened and hopeless if they are unable to adapt themselves. Depression can have serious consequences for suicidal attempts; furthermore, it can cause emotional and behavioral changes, such as sadness, loneliness, emptiness, disability in work performance, demotivation, and disappointment that may affect daily life in the form of boredom, insomnia, unhappiness, and difficulty solving problems. As a result, developing a surveillance approach to prevent depression among older adults with non-communicable diseases is essential to prevent depression that affects daily life and will subsequently result in anorexia, insomnia, unhappiness, and the inability to coordinate thoughts and feelings. By assessing the risk groups, this study provided quick assistance, as well as timely and early intervention for those at risk of depression to mitigate and eliminate the long-term effects and improve the quality of life for older adults with non-communicable diseases.