Background Depression is globally a crucial communal psychiatric disorder, which is more common in older adults. The situation is considerably worse among millions of older (forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals or FDMNs) Rohingya adults, and the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may exacerbate the already existing precarious situation. The present study investigated depressive symptoms and their associated factors in older adult Rohingya FDMNs in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method A total of 416 older adults aged 60 years and above residing in Rohingya camps situated in the South Eastern part of Bangladesh were interviewed using a 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) in Bengali language. Chi-square test was performed to compare the prevalence of depressive symptoms within different categories of a variable and a binary logistic regression model was performed to determine the factors associated with depressive symptoms. Results More than 41% of Rohingya older adults had depressive symptoms (DS). Socio-demographic and economic factors such as living alone, dependency on family for living, poor memory, feelings of being left out, difficulty in getting medicine and routine medical care during COVID-19, perception that older adults are at highest risk of COVID-19 and pre-existing non-communicable chronic conditions were found to be significantly associated with developing DS. Higher DS was also evident among older female Rohingya FDMNs. Conclusion DS are highly prevalent in older Rohingya FDMNs during COVID-19. The findings of the present study call for immediate arrangement of mental health care services and highlight policy implications to ensure the well-being of older FDMNs.

中文翻译：

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在 COVID-19 大流行期间，孟加拉国罗兴亚人（被迫流离失所的缅甸国民或 FDMN）老年人中抑郁症状的患病率和相关性

背景 抑郁症在全球范围内是一种重要的公共精神疾病，在老年人中更为常见。在数百万年长的（被迫流离失所的缅甸国民或 FDMN）罗兴亚成年人中，情况要严重得多，2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行可能会加剧已经存在的不稳定局势。本研究调查了 COVID-19 大流行期间孟加拉国考克斯巴扎尔的罗兴亚老年人 FDMN 的抑郁症状及其相关因素。方法 使用孟加拉语的 15 项老年抑郁量表 (GDS-15) 采访了居住在孟加拉国东南部罗兴亚难民营的 416 名 60 岁及以上的老年人。进行卡方检验以比较不同类别变量中抑郁症状的患病率，并进行二元逻辑回归模型以确定与抑郁症状相关的因素。结果超过 41% 的罗兴亚老年人有抑郁症状 (DS)。社会人口和经济因素，例如独居、依赖家庭生活、记忆力差、被遗忘的感觉、在 COVID-19 期间难以获得药物和常规医疗护理、认为老年人感染 COVID-19 的风险最高19 和预先存在的非传染性慢性病被发现与发展 DS 显着相关。较高的 DS 在老年女性罗兴亚 FDMN 中也很明显。结论 DS 在 COVID-19 期间在较老的罗兴亚 FDMN 中非常普遍。