Journal article
Associations between water, sanitation, and depression among older people in Ghana: empirical evidence from WHO-SAGE Wave 2 survey
Aging & mental health, Vol.26(6), pp.1112-1119
19/05/2022
PMID: 33843361
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Source: InCites
Abstract
While depression is the most frequent psychiatric disorder among the older adults, the use of water and sanitation has been associated with both physical and psychological adverse outcomes. We investigated the associations of water and sanitation with depressive symptoms among older adults in Ghana.
The study used data from 4,735 participants in the World Health Organization (WHO) Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 2 of adults aged ≥50 years. Major depressive episode (MDE) was assessed using the World Mental Health Survey version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and we classified water and sanitation sources based on the Joint Monitoring Program. Multivariate logistic regressions evaluated the associations.
Approximately 7.3% of respondents reported a MDE, 90% and 78% used improved water sources and sanitation facilities respectively, and 77% shared sanitation facilities. Individuals who used unimproved water sources and unimproved sanitation were 1.6 and 1.3 times more likely to report MDE respectively. Also, sex-based analysis showed that the effect of the use of unimproved water and sanitation on depression was much appreciable and more substantial among women compared to men. The findings suggest the importance of water and sanitation to the well-being of older people, particularly among women. Policies targeted at improving the mental health in old age should include water and sanitation.
Details
- Title
- Associations between water, sanitation, and depression among older people in Ghana: empirical evidence from WHO-SAGE Wave 2 survey
- Creators
- Sheillah Simiyu - African Population and Health Research CenterMoussa Bagayoko - African Population and Health Research CenterRazak M. Gyasi - African Population and Health Research Center
- Publication Details
- Aging & mental health, Vol.26(6), pp.1112-1119
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Identifiers
- 991013036333002368
- Copyright
- © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
- Academic Unit
- National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article