Depresión y ansiedad en adultos mayores de la parroquia el Valle del Cantón Cuenca, en el período 2022-2023

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are illnesses with a high incidence in older adults, who present symptoms that added to the vital circumstances of aging (illness, grief, disability), can become a disorder. The objective of this research was to describe the levels of depression and anxiety according to gender, age and marital status in older adults of the Elderly Project of the parish of El Valle. It has a quantitative approach, a non-experimental cross-sectional design and a descriptive scope. The participants were 40 older adults between 65 and 94 years of age. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI-II) were used to identify levels of depression and anxiety, and a sociodemographic card was used to characterize the participants. It has been identified that the levels of depression and anxiety according to sociodemographic variables as a function of age, marital status and gender are not statistically significant, while the predominant level of depression (40%) is moderate with an overall mean of M=21.1. On the other hand, the most predominant level of anxiety is low with a percentage of 52.5% with an overall mean of M=20.15. According to gender, men present significantly higher levels than women.