Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Functional Disability Among the Older Persons: Results from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI)

India’s older population (60 years and above) is projected to grow to over 300 million by 2050. This rapidly aging population will have unprecedented impact on the social and health system of the country, given that about 54% of older population suffer from at least one chronic disease, 52% of older persons have at least one ADL limitation (instrumental activities of daily living or basic activities of daily living), and 30% have depressive symptoms (International Institute for Population Sciences [IIPS] et al., Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1, 2017–18, India Report. https://www.iipsindia.ac.in/sites/default/files/LASI_India_Report_2020_compressed.pdf ). This study examines the association between depressive symptoms and functional disability due to limitations in performing activity of daily living, among older persons in India. Longitudinal Aging Study in India, Wave-1 data was used to assess this association using bivariate and multivariate analysis after controlling for covariates. The 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale was used to access depressive symptoms, and functional disability was assessed by using data on the 13-item Activity of Daily Living (ADL) scale. The prevalence of moderate and severe functional disability among older persons was 23% and 25% respectively. The mean ADL scores showed a significant positive association with age, increased from 1.43 for older persons in age group of 60 to 69 years to 2.47, among 70 to 79 years, which further increased to 4.45 for 80 years and above elderly. The mean scores of ADL disability in those with depressive symptoms and those without depressive symptoms were 2.91 ± and 1.56 ± 2.61, respectively. A significant positive association between ADL disability and depressive symptoms was observed indicating the need to promote programs for prevention of functional decline as a tool to reduce the prevalence of depression among older persons in India.