Anxiety, Depression and Cognitive Function of Community-Dwelling Elderly in South Korea

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among anxiety, depression and cognitive function of elderly. Participants of this study were 271 community-dwelling elderly in Chungnam, South Korea. The level of anxiety, depression and cognitive function were measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Korean version of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE-K). The mean scores of anxiety, depression and cognitive function were 12.55, 13.57 and 26.47 respectively. The level of anxiety was significantly different by gender (F=4.597, p=.033) and age (F=3.951, p=.020). The level of depression was significantly different by educational status (F=2.433, p=.048) and physical activity (F=10.006, p<.001). And cognitive function showed statistical difference by educational status (F=4.170, p=.003) and physical activity (F=3.495, p=.032). Anxiety showed significant relationships with depression (r=.590, p<.001). And depression had significant correlation with cognitive function (r=-.127, p=.036). According to the results of this study, cognitive function is related with mental health like as depression. Thus healthcare providers including community health nurses should consider mental health to maintain cognitive function of community-dwelling elderly