ภาวะซึมเศร้าในผู้สูงอายุ: ปัญหาสําคัญที่คนใกล้ชิดมองข้าม Depression in the Elderly : An Overlooked Problem

Abstract

The number of elderly is growing rapidly in every country around the world. The percentage of elderly worldwide was expected to double from 11% in 2009 to 22% in 2050. Since 2005 Thailand have been becoming an aging society. Their numbers of elderly are expected to increase of the overall population in Thailand to 14.9 % in 2025, which will cause health problems. Especially depression, is a common problem in the elderly. The prevalence of ageing depression is the percentage varies between 5.9 - 16.7 for the study in Thailand and other countries are mild depression 4.8 - 41.3 %, moderate - severe depression 8.3 - 41.0 %. It is the leading cause of the Year of Life Lost due to Disability : YLD among Thai woman in 2004. In the year 2030 depression is expected to be the disease that ultimately causes the highest disease burden in the world.