Background: Research has found that social network, social
support and religiosity are associated with depression in
elderly people. However, these predictors of depression
have not been fully explored among the high risk elderly
population. This study aims to examine the prevalence and
factors associated with depression among Malaysian elderly
subjects who had experienced major life events.
Methods: This is a cross-section study of a subsample of
594 participants from the original sample of 2322 Malaysian
elderly respondents, who had experienced major life events.
Information on socio-demographic, social network, social
support, religiosity and depression were collected through
an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A multiple linear
regression analysis was used to determine the factors
associated with depression among elderly who experienced
major life events.
Results: Overall prevalence of depression among
subsample of Malaysian elderly facing major life events was
9.4%. The results showed that age (p≤0.01), income
(p≤0.001) and social network (p≤0.05) were significant
associated with depression. In other words, with increasing
age, low income as well as small social network associated
with high risk of developing depression among elderly who
had experienced major life events
Conclusion: Other than age and income, social network
were also associated with depression among elderly
respondents who had experienced major life events.
Therefore, professionals who are working with elderly with
major life events should seek ways to enhance elderly
networking as one of the strategies to prevent depression.