Objective: Elderly patients with their deteriorating global health are becoming more vulnerable to mental disorders,
especially depression. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depression amongst
patients attending outpatient clinics in Songklanagarind Hospital, a tertiary care center in southern Thailand.
Material and Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Elderly people (65-99 years of age) attending the
outpatient department of Songklanagarind Hospital during 1st of September-30th of November 2015 were included in the study. The sample size was calculated using Epicalc in R program. We used the 15-item Thai Geriatric Depression
Scale (TGDS-15) questionnaire to find the prevalence of depression among this group. Associated factors of depression were identified by multiple logistic regression using a backward-stepwise method.
Results: The total number of participants in this study was 408. The prevalence of depression based on the TGDS-15,
cut-off score of >5, among elderly outpatients in Songklanagarind Hospital was 9.6%. However, regarding multiple regression analysis, no statistically significant factors; sex, age, marital status, educational level, and religion, could be found to be associated with depression.
Conclusion: Almost one-tenth of the elderly patients visiting the outpatient clinics within Songklanagarind Hospital had
depression. This prevalence was quite high. The depression would worsen their health conditions. Good, rigorous
screening coupled with a referral system should be encouraged and then implemented in this hospital.