Age Paradox: Depressive Symptomatology For Older Men and Women in Taiwan

Abstract Background: To discern if prevalence of depressive symptoms in adults aged 65 and above in Taiwan changed during the past decade and to identify if protective and risk factors of depressive symptomatology differ by gender. Method: Data of nationally representative older adults (65+) interviewed from the 2005, 2009 and 2013 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in Taiwan was analyzed (n=8,832). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used for the measurement of depressive symptomatology. Results: Age adjusted prevalence rate of depressive symptomatology among older adults in Taiwan reduced from 20.6% to 13.3% (X2=-7.5, p<.05) in the community. The most significant factors associated with higher depressive symptomatology in both gender was too much carbohydrates intake, which was significantly associated with 8.8 (95%CI=5.1-15.2) and 7.9 (95%CI=5.2-11.8) times depressive symptomatology in men and women respectively. Factors associated with lower depressive symptomatology in both gender include advanced age (over the age of 85), exercise and social participation. The advanced age for men and women reduced about 63% (AOR over the age of 85=0.4, 95%CI=0.2-0.9) and 62% (AOR over the age of 85=0.4, 95%CI=0.2-0.8) of depressive symptomatology for men and women respectively; Exercise reduced about 50% (AOR exercise=0.5, 95%CI=0.3-0.6) and 58% (AOR exercise=0.5, 95%CI=0.3-0.6) of depressive symptomatology for men and women respectively; social participation reduced about 55% (AOR social participation=0.5, 95%CI=0.3-0.7) and 36% (AOR social participation=0.6, 95%CI=0.5-0.9) of depressive symptomatology for men and women respectively.Conclusions: For adults aged over 65, advanced age, which is 85+ for men and 75+ for women, is a significant protective factor guarding against depressive symptoms. Carbohydrates, cognitive disorder, heart disease and falls were associated with higher depressive symptomatology in both gender. The pulmonary disease, underweight and educational level were risk factors for men; metabolic disease and milk intake were risks for women. Common factors associated with lower depressive symptomatology in both gender includes advanced age, exercise and social participation. Tea and coffee intake and married status were associated with lower depressive symptomatology for women.

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Depression and the lower risk for breast cancer development in middle-aged women: a prospective study

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291703007499 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 33 (6) ◽

pp. 1111-1117 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

I. NYKLÍČEK ◽

W. J. LOUWMAN ◽

P. W. M. VAN NIEROP ◽

C. J. WIJNANDS ◽

J.-W. W. COEBERGH ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Protective Factor ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Population Based ◽

Cancer Development ◽

Breast Cancer Development ◽

Increased Risk

Background. Depression has been hypothesized to be potentially linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. Few studies have addressed this question using population-based cohorts and prospective designs, adjusting for known biomedical risk factors. This has been done in the present investigation.Method. Participants were 5191 women from a cohort of women born between 1941 and 1947 and living in the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. All women completed questionnaires regarding the presence of depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Depression Scale) and background (demographic, medical and lifestyle) variables. The questionnaire data were linked with the records of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry. These records provided data on breast cancer diagnoses, which took place up to 5 years after the questionnaire screening.Results. Fifty-eight women (1·1%) were found to have developed breast cancer at least 2 years after the questionnaire screening. After controlling for 15 potential risk factors, of which family history of breast cancer, hypothyroidism and unilateral oophorectomy were significant predictors of breast cancer development, women with depressive symptoms had a lower risk of subsequent breast cancer (OR=0·29, 95% CI=0·09–0·92, P=0·04).Conclusions. Depressive complaints may be associated with a protective factor involved in the development of breast cancer. Some of the possible candidates for this factor are discussed.

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Family Proximity as a Moderator of Spousal Associations of Depression among Mexican Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.2781 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 755-756

Author(s):

Katie Newkirk ◽

Maria Aranda ◽

Catalina Mourgues-Codern ◽

Ana Quiñones ◽

Rafael Samper-Ternent ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Protective Factor ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Epidemiologic Studies ◽

Rate Of Change ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Moderation Effect ◽

Rate Of Increase ◽

Mitigating Factors

Abstract Depression among older adults is a public health issue, and a large literature highlights the importance of close relationships as both a risk and protective factor for depression. Research in U.S. samples suggests that one spouse’s depressive symptoms can increase their partner’s depressive symptoms, especially for women (Kouros & Cummings, 2010; Tower & Kasl, 1996). Little is known about interpersonal associations in depression, mitigating factors, and the role of gender among older couples in Mexico. This study examined (1) the effects of an individual’s depressive symptoms on their spouse’s symptoms and 2) whether living close to family buffered depression associations using data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (n=4,071 dyads, age 50+ at initial interview). Depressive symptoms were measured in 2001, 2003, 2012, 2015, and 2018 using a modified 8-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Multilevel modeling was used to fit a dual-intercept growth model (centered at 2012) of husbands’ and wives’ depressive symptoms over time, controlling for age and education. Results showed a partner effect for husbands and wives, such that having a spouse with greater depressive symptoms in 2001 was associated with greater subsequent depressive symptoms, but not with rate of change in symptoms, in 2012. There was also a moderation effect such that the deleterious effect of husbands’ depressive symptoms on wives’ symptoms, as well as rate of increase in symptoms, was higher when family lived nearby, suggesting family may potentially exacerbate depression associations among spouses rather than a buffering them as hypothesized.

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Protective and Risk Factors of Depression Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.2688 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 726-727

Author(s):

Yeonjung Lee ◽

Tyran Terada

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Marital Status ◽

Protective Factor ◽

Well Being ◽

Never Married ◽

Married People ◽

Status Data ◽

Retirement Study

Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic adversely impacted the mental health of older adults. This study aims to explore the associations between protective/risk factors of depression during the pandemic and to examine the differences in these associations by marital status. Data from the Health and Retirement Study 2020 COVID-19 module, released in February, 2021, were used. The level of resilience during the pandemic was selected as a protective factor. The level of COVID-19 pandemic concern was selected as a risk factor. Among older adults aged 51 years and older, the weighted regression model found that higher levels of COVID-19 concern were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms (p<0.05), whereas higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms (p<0.05). Marital status moderated the association between COVID-19 concern and depressive symptoms. Never-married people were at higher risk of depressive symptoms than married people when COVID-19 concerns increased. It is important to enhance support for never-married people during the pandemic to protect their psychological well-being.

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Widespread pain and depression are key modifiable risk factors associated with reduced social participation in older adults

Medicine ◽

10.1097/md.0000000000004111 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 95 (31) ◽

pp. e4111 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Ross Wilkie ◽

Milisa Blagojevic-Bucknall ◽

John Belcher ◽

Carolyn Chew-Graham ◽

Rosie J. Lacey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Older Adults ◽

Social Participation ◽

Modifiable Risk Factors ◽

Widespread Pain ◽

Factors Associated

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Risk Factors Associated With Depression And Anxiety In Older Adults Of Mexican Origin

European Scientific Journal ESJ ◽

10.19044/esj.2016.v12n24p1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Raquel E. Gonzalez ◽

Magy Martin ◽

Don Martin

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Older Adults ◽

Nursing Homes ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Female Gender ◽

Mexican Origin ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Mexico Border

Older adults of Mexican origin are often underserved, especially those residing in nursing homes. The purpose of this study was to examine if there was a relationship among risk factors associated with depression and anxiety in older adults of Mexican origin. Using a quantitative correlational design, the relationships were assessed with a demographic questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). A sample of 150 elders of Mexican origin residing in nursing homes in a Texas–Mexico border city were examined using two multiple regression analyses. Data analysis indicated that there was a relationship between risk factors associated with depression and anxiety. Data from this study confirmed that a high score on ADLs predicted greater depression and anxiety while female gender predicted higher anxiety and frequent family support predicted low anxiety.

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Risk factors associated with mortality in young and long-lived older adults in Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

Ciência & Saúde Coletiva ◽

10.1590/1413-81232020256.24172018 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 2031-2040

Author(s):

Susana Cararo Confortin ◽

Selma Regina de Andrade ◽

Lariane Mortean Ono ◽

Thamara Hubler Figueiró ◽

Eleonora d’Orsi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Functional Disability ◽

Family Income ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Population Based ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Probability Of Survival ◽

Risk Of Death

Abstract This article aims to investigate risk factors associated with mortality in young (< 80 years) and long-lived (≥ 80 years) older adults in Florianópolis. A longitudinal population-based study of 1702 older adults participants of the EpiFloripa Ageing Study. Deaths were identified through searches in the Mortality Information System. The probability of survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier and Log-Rank methods. The effect of risk factors for mortality was evaluated using Cox Regression models, adjusted for gender, family income, leisure physical activity, depressive symptoms, functional disability, falls, smoking, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus. The overall survival probability was 89.9% and 52.6% for the young and long-lived older adults, respectively. For younger older adults, the risk of death was higher for males, ex-smokers and those with moderate/severe disability. For the long-lived older adults, only those with depressive symptoms had a higher risk of death. These results reveal different risk profiles of death among younger and older adults and the need for a differentiated look in the health care of this population.

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Chronic and remitting trajectories of depressive symptoms in the elderly. Characterisation and risk factors

Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences ◽

10.1017/s2045796015001122 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 146-156 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

I. Carrière ◽

A. Farré ◽

C. Proust-Lima ◽

J. Ryan ◽

M.L. Ancelin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Genetic Characteristics ◽

Men And Women ◽

Co Morbidity ◽

Clinically Significant ◽

Over Time

Background.In elderly general population sub-syndromal clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms are highly prevalent and associated with high co-morbidity and increased mortality risk. However changes in depressive symptoms over time and etiologic factors have been difficult to characterise notably due to methodological shortcomings. Our objective was to differentiate trajectories of depressive symptoms over 10 years in community-dwelling elderly men and women using statistical modelling methods which take into account intra-subject correlation and individual differences as well as to examine current and life-time risk factors associated with different trajectories.Methods.Participants aged 65 and over were administered standardised questionnaires and underwent clinical examinations at baseline and after 2, 4, 7 and 10 years. Trajectories over time of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scores were modelled in 517 men and 736 women separately with latent class mixed models which include both a linear mixed model to describe latent classes of trajectories and a multinomial logistic model to characterise the latent trajectories according to baseline covariates (socio-demographic, lifestyle, clinical, genetic characteristics and stressful life events).Results.In both genders two different profiles of symptom changes were observed over the 10-year follow-up. For 9.1% of men and 25% of women a high depressive symptom trajectory was found with a trend toward worsening in men. The majority of the remaining men and women showed decreasing symptomatology over time, falling from clinically significant to very low levels of depressive symptoms. In large multivariate class membership models, mobility limitations [odds ratio (OR) = 4.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6–12.9 and OR = 4.9, 95% CI 2.3–10.7, in men and women respectively], ischemic pathologies (OR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.0–8.3 and OR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.0–9.9), and recent stressful events (OR = 4.5, 95% CI 1.1–18.5, OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.6–6.2) were associated with a poor symptom course in both gender as well as diabetes in men (OR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.1–10.9) and childhood traumatic experiences in women (OR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.6–5.8).Conclusions.This prospective study was able to differentiate patterns of chronic and remitting depressive symptoms in elderly people with distinct symptom courses and risk factors for men and women. These findings may inform prevention programmes designed to reduce the chronic course of depressive symptomatology.

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Spirituality as a Mediator Between Depressive Symptoms and Subjective Well-being in Older Adults

Clinical Nursing Research ◽

10.1177/1054773821991152 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 105477382199115

Author(s):

Mária Sováriová Soósová ◽

Vladimíra Timková ◽

Lucia Dimunová ◽

Boris Mauer

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Good Health ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mediation Analyses

As the population is aging, strategies for helping older people to maintain and promote good health and well-being are needed. This study aims to assess whether depressive symptomatology and spirituality are associated with subjective well-being in older adults when controlled for sociodemographic variables. Furthermore, the mediating role of spirituality in the association between depressive symptomatology and subjective well-being was examined. A total of 250 participants (mean age 75.91 ± 7.60) in this cross-sectional study completed the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, the Zung’s Self-rating Depression Scale, and the Personal Wellbeing Index. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were used to analyze the data. Subjective well-being was negatively associated with depressive symptoms and positively associated with spiritual experiences. The indirect effect of depressive symptomatology on subjective well-being via spirituality was 28.7%. The enhancement of spirituality seems to represent one of the relevant interventional strategies in prevention and treatment of depressive symptoms and well-being improvement.

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Hearing Impairment and Risk of Depression in Older Adults in Health ABC

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1509 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 466-466

Author(s):

Danielle Powell ◽

Joshua Betz ◽

Kristine Yaffe ◽

Stephen Kritchevsky ◽

Elsa Strotmeyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Epidemiologic Studies ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Rates Of Change ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract Whether hearing impairment (HI) is associated with depressive symptoms remains disputed for older adults, in part due to varying definition employed, use of subjective hearing measures, or cross-sectional analysis. We studied 1936 men and women (mean age 74.1 years, 41.7% black race) enrolled in the prospective Health, Aging and Body Composition study Hearing thresholds at 500-4000 Hz were averaged to create a pure tone average (PTA) and HI was defined using clinical cutpoints in the better-hearing ear. Depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) or the CES-D 10, a revised 10 question scale depending on visit. Linear mixed effects models with random intercepts and slopes were used to estimate difference in rates of change in depressive symptomatology by hearing status over nine years. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association between HI and incident depression defined as change in CES-D score >=10 points. In models adjusted for demographic and clinical covariates, participants with HI demonstrated a higher baseline prevalence of depressive symptoms compared to those with normal hearing (20.7% vs. 8.4%).Rates of change did not differ by HI status. Participants with moderate or greater HI had an increased risk of 9-year incident depression (HR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.00-1.62) compared to participants with normal hearing. HI is associated with increased risk of incident depression and a greater overall prevalence of depression compared to normal hearing, underscoring the importance of further research on whether rehabilitative therapies can mitigate this association.

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The Association Between Midlife Education and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life: The AGES-Reykjavik Study

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1098 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 284-284

Author(s):

Milan Chang ◽

Chiharu Nishizuka ◽

Hrafnhildur Eymundsdottir ◽

Sigurveig Sigurdardottir ◽

Alfons Ramel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Geriatric Depression Scale ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Late Life ◽

Later Life ◽

College And University ◽

Longitudinal Association ◽

Life Education

Abstract Background Disability and depression are associated with cumulative health adversities such as socioeconomic status (SES), nutrition, medical care, and education among older adults. However, there is little evidence on the longitudinal association between mid-life education level with a disability and depressive symptoms in older adults in Iceland. The aim of the study was to examine the association between mid-life education and prevalence of activity of daily living (ADL) dependency and high depressive symptoms in late-life. Methods A large community-based population residing in Reykjavik, Iceland (n=4991, 57.3% women, 76.9±5.8 yrs) participated in a longitudinal study with an average of 25 years of follow-up. Mid-life education was categorized into 4 groups (primary, secondary, college, and university). ADL dependency and high depressive symptoms were assessed on average 25 (±4) years later. The 5-item ADL dependency score ranged between 0 (no difficulty) and 18. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results After controlling for demographic and health-related risk factors, those with higher education at mid-life were significantly less likely to have high depressive symptomatology (6 or higher GDS scores, Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.65, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.52 ~ 0.82, P < 0.0001). However, mid-life education was not associated with ADL dependency in later life. Conclusion Our study shows that mid-life education is associated with depressive symptoms 25 years later, while no association found with ADL dependency among Icelandic older adults.

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