Depression among the ageing population of Ghana: The risk factors
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Michael Arthur Ofori 1 2 * , Daniel Biftu Bekalo 1 3 , Ildephonse Nizeyimana 1 4 , Mohamed Adam Suliman Ishag 1 5 , Youssouf Bouzir 1
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1 Pan African University Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation, Juja, KENYA2 University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GHANA3 Haramaya University, Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA4 University of Rwanda, Kigali, RWANDA5 University of Kordofan, SUDAN* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background: The occurrence of challenges associated with the health of the aged keeps increasing due to the increasing aged population. One of the most common among these is depression. Depression is a prevalent mental illness that is defined by prolonged melancholy, loss of interest in once-enjoyed pursuits, and the inability to carry out everyday tasks for at least two weeks. The study analyzed the contributing factors associated with depression among the ageing population of Ghana.
Method: The study used the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) wave 1 data from Ghana. There were 4,223 participants in the data. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for data analysis. A logistic regression model was developed using the data.
Results: The findings indicated that 52.76% of the elderly suffered depression. The prevalence of depression is higher among older adults with severe or moderate vision issues. Additionally, it was shown that those with medium levels of education experience depression more frequently than those with no education or low levels of education. Again, older people with memory problems are more prone to depression. The logistic regression found difficulty in seeing, highest education level, systolic blood pressure, alcohol intake, and difficulty in remembering as the risk factors associated with depression.
Conclusions: The prevalence of depression among the aged in Ghana is high. Since depressive symptoms are frequently linked to aging, we advise health practitioners to screen depressive symptoms alongside other chronic medical conditions in the elderly population in healthcare facilities and community settings.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

J CONTEMP STUD EPIDEMIOL PUBLIC HEALTH, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2025, Article No: ep25006

https://doi.org/10.29333/jconseph/17403

Publication date: 09 Nov 2025

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