Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36632254›Full record

ArticleCureus2022

Depression, Disability, and Cognitive Impairment Among Elders With Medical Illnesses Attending Follow-Up Clinics at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Northern Sri Lanka.

Bhavana Sivayokan, Nipuna C Somasiri, Thayananthi Maheswaran, Nihanatha Mahendrarajah, Achala I Gunarathna, Pethirupillai A Coonghe, Navaneethakrishnan Suganthan, Sambasivamoorthy Sivayokan

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Bhavana SivayokanCommunity and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
Nipuna C SomasiriCommunity and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
Thayananthi MaheswaranCommunity and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
Nihanatha MahendrarajahCommunity and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
Achala I GunarathnaCommunity and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
Pethirupillai A CoongheCommunity and Family Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
Navaneethakrishnan SuganthanMedicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
Sambasivamoorthy SivayokanPsychiatry, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, LKA.
University of Jaffna · LKJaffna Teaching Hospital · LK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe rising proportion of the elderly is increasingly affected by non-communicable diseases. Despite an abundance of literature suggesting that elders with medical conditions are more vulnerable to depression, disability, and cognitive impairment, these tend to go unnoticed and unaddressed. This study describes the prevalence and correlates of depression, disability, and cognitive impairment among elders with medical illnesses attending follow-up clinics in a tertiary care hospital in northern Sri Lanka.

methodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 122 elders (≥60 years) attending medical clinics at Teaching Hospital Jaffna. Depression, disability, and cognitive impairment were assessed by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment, respectively. Student's T-Test, ANOVA, and correlation coefficient were used in analyzing data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences 25 (SPSS-v25) (IBM, New York, United States).

resultsThe mean age of the participants was 68.3 years (SD=5.70); 58 (47.5%) were males and 64 (52.5%) were females. Prevalence of depression was 44.3% (95% CI=35.5-53.1), while disability was 95.9% (95% CI=92.4-99.4) and cognitive impairment was 80.3% (95% CI=73.2-87.4). Depression was significantly associated with gender (p=0.013), marital status (p=0.019), and living arrangement (p<0.001). Cognitive impairment was significantly associated with education level (p=0.045), and disability was associated with education level (p=0.008) and marital status (p=0.027). Among the study participants, only 12 (9.8%) had previously sought professional help for depression, disability, or cognitive impairment.

conclusionDepression, disability, and cognitive impairment are common among the elderly attending medical clinics in Teaching Hospital Jaffna, and are, in most cases, unaddressed.

Indexed as

agingdementiadepression in elderlyfunctional declinegerontologygeropsychiatryhealth disparities

Identifiers

PMID36632254
PMCPMC9828413
OpenAlexW4312068582

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.