Exploring causal effects of combining work and intergenerational support on depressive symptoms among middle-aged women

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUZANNA J. OPREE ◽  
MATTHIJS KALMIJN

ABSTRACTIn debates about ageing western societies it is often assumed that many middle-aged women struggle to combine paid employment and intergenerational support, and that the subsequent stress leads them to experience an increase in depressive symptoms. Cross-sectional studies have supported this notion, but the question remains whether combining work and intergenerational support actually causes an increase in depressive symptoms. In order to fill a gap in the literature, this study examines the proportion of middle-aged women combining paid work and support to an adult child and/or parent, and the extent to which combining these roles affects women's depressive symptoms over time. For this purpose, we make use of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data set which includes longitudinal data collected on European women aged 50+. Descriptive analyses indicated that 14 per cent of middle-aged women combine the roles of employee, support provider to an adult child, and/or support provider to a parent. Results from semi-dynamic and full-dynamic regression analyses indicate that combining roles can take away some, of the positive mental health effects of fulfilling a role. These findings support the role combination stress hypothesis.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Alfred H. K. Lam ◽  
Dannii Y. Yeung ◽  
Edwin K. H. Chung

Abstract Volunteering is a popular activity among middle-aged and older adults as means to contribute to the society and to maintain personal health and wellbeing. While the benefits of volunteering have been well-documented in the current literature, it does not tend to distinguish between various types of volunteering activities. This cross-sectional study aims to compare the effects of instrumental (e.g. food preparation, fundraising) and cognitively demanding volunteering activities (e.g. befriending, mentoring) in a sample of 487 middle-aged and older Hong Kong Chinese adults. Participation in instrumental and cognitively demanding volunteering, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, cognitive functioning and hand-grip strength were measured. The results of two-way between-subject robust analyses of variance demonstrated significant main effects of volunteering type and their interaction effect with age on life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Comparisons among four volunteering groups (no volunteering, instrumental volunteering, cognitively demanding volunteering and both types) revealed that individuals engaging in instrumental volunteering exhibited lower life satisfaction and more depressive symptoms compared to those who engaged in cognitively demanding volunteering and those who did not volunteer at all. This detrimental pattern of instrumental volunteering was only seen in middle-aged adults, but not in older adults. Findings of this study revealed distinctive effects of two volunteering types, and provide valuable directions for designing future volunteering programmes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S817-S817
Author(s):  
Yaolin Pei ◽  
Zhen Cong ◽  
Bei Wu

Abstract The study examined gender differences in the impact of living alone and intergenerational support on depressive symptoms among Mexican American older adults. The sample included 335 parent-adult child dyads which were nested within 92 Mexican American respondents in a city in West Texas. Each respondent reported their specific relationships with each child. The results from clustered regression showed that men provided and received less intergenerational support than women, but their depressive symptoms were more susceptible to living alone and different types of intergenerational support. Factors such as living alone, and receiving instrumental support were related to higher levels of depressive symptoms among Mexican American older men than among in their female counterparts, whereas emotional closeness with children was associated with lower level of depressive symptoms in men than in women. The findings can be used to develop and target a gender-specific approach for depression interventions among older Mexican Americans.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Hoben ◽  
Abigail Heninger ◽  
Jayna Holroyd-Leduc ◽  
Jennifer Knopp-Sihota ◽  
Carole Estabrooks ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The main objective is to better understand the prevalence of depressive symptoms, in long-term care (LTC) residents with or without cognitive impairment across Western Canada. Secondary objectives are to examine comorbidities and other factors associated with of depressive symptoms, and treatments used in LTC. Methods 11,445 residents across a random sample of 91 LTC facilities, from 09/2014 to 05/2015, were stratified by owner-operator model (private for-profit, public or voluntary not-for-profit), size (small: < 80 beds, medium: 80–120 beds, large > 120 beds), location (Calgary and Edmonton Health Zones, Alberta; Fraser and Interior Health Regions, British Columbia; Winnipeg Health Region, Manitoba). Random intercept generalized linear mixed models with depressive symptoms as the dependent variable, cognitive impairment as primary independent variable, and resident, care unit and facility characteristics as covariates were used. Resident variables came from the Resident Assessment Instrument – Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS) 2.0 records (the RAI-MDS version routinely collected in Western Canadian LTC). Care unit and facility variables came from surveys completed with care unit or facility managers. Results Depressive symptoms affects 27.1% of all LTC residents and 23.3% of LTC resident have both, depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment. Hypertension, urinary and fecal incontinence were the most common comorbidities. Cognitive impairment increases the risk for depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 1.65 [95% confidence interval 1.43; 1.90]). Pain, anxiety and pulmonary disorders were also significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Pharmacologic therapies were commonly used in those with depressive symptoms, however there was minimal use of non-pharmacologic management. Conclusions Depressive symptoms are common in LTC residents –particularly in those with cognitive impairment. Depressive symptoms are an important target for clinical intervention and further research to reduce the burden of these illnesses.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3437
Author(s):  
Tamami Odai ◽  
Masakazu Terauchi ◽  
Risa Suzuki ◽  
Kiyoko Kato ◽  
Asuka Hirose ◽  
...  

This study investigated the nutritional factors that are associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms in Japanese middle-aged and elderly women. We conducted a cross-sectional study with 289 study participants aged ≥40 years (mean age = 52.0 ± 6.9 years). Their dietary habits, menopausal status and symptoms, and varied background factors, such as body composition, lifestyle factors, and cardiovascular parameters, were assessed. Their anxiety and depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), where scores of 0–7 points, 8–10 points, and 11–21 points on either the anxiety or depression subscales were categorized as mild, moderate, and severe, respectively. The dietary consumption of nutrients was assessed using a brief self-administered diet history questionnaire. The relationships between the moderate-to-severe anxiety/depressive symptoms and the dietary intake of 43 major nutrients were investigated using multivariate logistic regression analyses. After adjusting for age, menopausal status, and the background factors that were significantly related to depressive symptoms, moderate and severe depression was significantly inversely associated with only vitamin B6 (adjusted odds ratio per 10 μg/MJ in vitamin B6 intake = 0.89, 95% confidence interval = 0.80–0.99). A higher intake of vitamin B6 could help relieve depressive symptoms for this population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 1674-1681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroka Sakai ◽  
Kentaro Murakami ◽  
Satomi Kobayashi ◽  
Hitomi Suga ◽  
Satoshi Sasaki ◽  
...  

AbstractOnly a few studies have focused on the association between overall diet, rather than intakes of individual nutrients or foods, and depressive symptoms in Japanese. This cross-sectional study examined associations between a diet quality score and depressive symptoms in 3963 young (age 18 years) and 3833 middle-aged (mean age 47·9 (sd 4·2) years) Japanese women. Dietary information was collected using a diet history questionnaire. A previously developed diet quality score was computed mainly based on the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 22·0 % for young women and 16·8 % for middle-aged women, assessed as a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) score ≥23 and ≥19, respectively. As expected, the diet quality score was associated positively with intakes of ‘grain dishes’, ‘vegetable dishes’, ‘fish and meat dishes’, ‘milk’ and ‘fruits’ and inversely with intakes of energy from ‘snacks, confection and beverages’ and Na from seasonings. After adjustment for potential confounders, OR for depressive symptoms in the highest v. lowest quintiles of the diet quality score was 0·65 (95 % CI 0·50, 0·84) in young women (Pfor trend=0·0005). In middle-aged women, the corresponding value was 0·59 (95 % CI 0·45, 0·78) (Pfor trend<0·0001). Analyses where the diet quality and CES-D scores were treated as continuous variables also showed inverse associations. In conclusion, this cross-sectional study showed that a higher diet quality score was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in young and middle-aged Japanese women. Prospective studies are needed to confirm a public health relevance of this finding.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asuka Hirose ◽  
Masakazu Terauchi ◽  
Mihoko Akiyoshi ◽  
Yoko Owa ◽  
Kiyoko Kato ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Guo ◽  
Dexia Kong ◽  
Anao Zhang ◽  
Liming Fang ◽  
Yingxue Zhu

Abstract Background: The prevalence of depressive symptoms has been steadily increasing in recent years, however middle aged and older adults was less likely to use mental health services. The aims of this study were to 1) examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and health services utilization among Chinese middle-aged and older adults; and 2) evaluate whether there exists a rural-urban difference in such relationships. Methods: Data was obtained from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2013 and 2015, a nationally representative survey of 13,551 adults aged 45 years and above in China. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between depressive symptoms and health services utilization in the whole sample, and urban and rural subsamples respectively. Results: Depressive symptoms were positively associated with a greater likelihood of outpatient and inpatient health services utilization. In addition, the relationships between depressive symptoms and health service use were consistent across rural and urban settings, indicating the robustness of such findings across geographic areas. Conclusions: Findings indicate that depressive symptoms are significantly associated with both in-patient and out-patient health service utilization among Chinese adults. Screening for depressive symptoms needs to be incorporated in these care settings in China.


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