Association between polypharmacy and depression among older adults in an Indian hospital: a prospective observational study

Objective.To evaluate the association between polypharmacy and depression among older adults in an Indian hospital.Methods.Patients aged ≥60 years who attended the outpatient departments of general medicine and geriatric medicine at a tertiary hospital of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India, were recruited through convenience sampling.Data collected included sociodemographic, clinical, and medication details.Symptoms of depression were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-SF).Total scores range from 0 to 15; higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.Results.In total, 130 female and 105 male older patients were included.The 235 patients had a mean of 2.23 comorbidities; 41.3% had >2 comorbidities.The mean number of drugs prescribed per patient was 3.83; 218 (92.8%) patients received medication for chronic diseases.Among the 235 patients, 157 (66.8%) received ≤4 drugs and 78 (33.2%) received ≥5 drugs.The mean GDS-SF score was 2.51; 40 (17.0%)patients had depression.Of these, 27 had both polypharmacy and depression.Polypharmacy was associated with depression (p<0.001). Conclusions.Polypharmacy is associated with geriatric depression.The use of non-pharmacological interventions to reduce polypharmacy may have a positive effect on the affective status of older adults.