Supplemental Material for Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Old Age: Integrating Age-, Pathology-, and Mortality-Related Changes

ABSTRACTThe present study aims to determine how family size affects psycho-social, economic and health wellbeing in old age differently across two cohorts with declining fertility. The data are from the 2012 Mexican Health and Ageing Study (MHAS) including respondents aged 50+ (N = 13,102). Poisson (standard and zero-inflated) and logistic regressions are used to model determinants of wellbeing in old age: psycho-social (depressive symptoms), economic (consumer durables and insurance) and health (chronic conditions). In the younger cohort, having fewer children is associated with fewer depressive symptoms and chronic conditions, and better economic wellbeing. For the older cohort, having fewer children is associated with lower economic wellbeing and higher odds of being uninsured. Lower fertility benefited the younger cohort (born after 1937), whereas the older cohort (born in 1937 or earlier) benefited from lower fertility only in chronic conditions. Further research is needed to continue exploring the old-age effects of the fertility transition.

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Social Support Buffers the Impact of Depressive Symptoms on Life Satisfaction in Old Age

Clinical Gerontologist ◽

10.1080/07317115.2015.1073823 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 139-157 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Tangeria R. Adams ◽

Laura A. Rabin ◽

Valdiva G. Da Silva ◽

Mindy J. Katz ◽

Joshua Fogel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Old Age ◽

The Impact

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Direct costs associated with depressive symptoms in late life: a 4.5-year prospective study

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610212001688 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 292-302 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Melanie Luppa ◽

Hans-Helmut König ◽

Dirk Heider ◽

Hanna Leicht ◽

Tom Motzek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Home Care ◽

Old Age ◽

Service Use ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

The Elderly ◽

Direct Costs ◽

Cross Sectional

ABSTRACTBackground: Depression in old age is common. Only few studies examined the association of depressive symptoms and direct costs in the elderly in a cross-sectional way. This study aims to investigate prospectively health service use and direct costs over a course of 4.5 years considering also different courses of depressive symptomatology.Methods: 305 primary care patients aged 75+ were assessed face-to-face regarding depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale), and service use and costs at baseline and 4.5 years later. Resource utilization was monetarily valued using 2004/2005 prices. The association of baseline factors and direct costs after 4.5 years was analyzed by multivariate linear regression.Results: Mean annual direct costs of depressed individuals at baseline and follow-up were almost one-third higher than of non-depressed, and highest for individuals with chronic depressive symptoms. Most relevant cost drivers were costs for inpatient care, pharmaceuticals, and home care. Costs for home care increased at most in individuals with chronic depressive symptoms. Baseline variables that were associated with direct costs after 4.5 years were number of medications as a measure of comorbidity, age, gender, and depressive symptoms.Conclusions: Presence and persistence of depressive symptoms in old age seems to be associated with future direct costs even after adjustment for comorbidity. The findings deign a look to the potential economic consequences of depressive symptoms in the elderly for the healthcare system in the future.

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Bereavement in Very Old Age: Impact on Health and Relationships of the Loss of a Spouse, a Child, a Sibling, or a Close Friend

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.2190/om.60.4.a ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 60 (4) ◽

pp. 301-325 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Christian J. Lalive d'Epinay ◽

Stefano Cavalli ◽

Luc A. Guillet

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Functional Status ◽

Old Age ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Great Majority ◽

Close Friend ◽

Short Term ◽

Very Old ◽

Very Old Age

This article deals with the following two questions: In very old age, which are the main sources of bereavement? And what are the consequences of such losses on health and on relationships? The findings are based on the complete set of data compiled in the course of the Swiss Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on the Oldest Old (SWILSOO), which provided a 10-year follow-up of a first cohort (1994–2004) and a 5-year follow-up of a second (1999–2004). The data revealed that, in very old age, the great majority of the dear ones who died were either siblings or close friends. Taken as a whole, the bereaved suffered a marked and lasting increase in depressive symptoms, together with a short-term deterioration in their functional status; those bereft of a spouse or a child saw their functional status worsen and exhibited enduring depressive symptoms but they also benefited from support in the form of increased interaction; those bereft of siblings only suffered from a mild, short-term deterioration in functional status; those who had lost a close friend suffered a very significant increase in depressive symptoms. In the medium term, most of these effects disappeared, lending weight to the claim that the survivors manage to cope with the misfortunes of life.

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Mastery and Depressive Symptoms: How Does Mastery Influence the Impact of Stressors From Midlife to Old Age?

Journal of Aging and Health ◽

10.1177/0898264317705782 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (7) ◽

pp. 1084-1107 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Magnhild Nicolaisen ◽

Torbjørn Moum ◽

Kirsten Thorsen

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Life Course ◽

Life Span ◽

Old Age ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Independent Variables ◽

Health Factors ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact

Objective: The objective of this research is to study depressive symptoms (DS) among adults aged 40 to 79 years and examine how mastery influences the impact of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health factors on DS. Method: We used a sample of the Norwegian Life Course, Generation, and Gender (LOGG) study ( N = 6,879) and analyzed how mastery influences the independent variables on DS via regression analyses. Results: Mastery affected DS directly and influenced the effects of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health factors on DS. There was a stronger relationship between stressors and DS among respondents with low than high mastery. DS were most prevalent among people aged 70 to 79 years. When mastery was also controlled for, the oldest group (70-79 years) had significantly fewer DS than those aged 40 to 49 years. Discussion: The influence of mastery and stressors on DS seems to vary along the life span. The result that mastery was a relatively stronger buffer against DS in midlife than in old age is discussed.

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