Prevalence of Depression and Associated Factors in Non-institutionalized Older Adults With a Previous History of Falling

The purpose of this paper was to estimate the prevalence of depression and associated factors in people aged 65 or older with a history of falling in the last 12months. A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed involving a random sample of 213 participants from two social centers for older adults in the city of Zaragoza (Spain). The mean age of the participants was 77.3years (SD±7.0). Our findings reveal a prevalence of depression of 28.2% in the study sample, with older adults who were at a high risk of falling being more susceptible to developing depression. In conclusion, one in three elderly people who were at risk of suffering a fall in the 12months prior to data collection had symptoms of depression. This is in agreement with the results from previous studies, which confirm that there is a high prevalence of depression in elderly patients with a previous history of falls.