On becoming depressed or anxious in late life: similar vulnerability factors but different effects of stressful life events

Little research has been done on the uniqueness of risk profiles for depression and anxiety in late life. Delineating risk factors for the decline of mental health in older persons, comparing risk profiles for developing symptoms of pure depression, pure anxiety and both anxiety and depression in a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 2001-11, Vol.179 (5), p.426-431
Main Authors: De Beurs, Edwin, Beekman, Aartjan, Geerlings, Sandra, Deeg, Dorly, Van Dyck, Richard, Van Tilburg, Willem
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety
Anxiety Disorders - etiology
Comorbidity
Depressive Disorder - etiology
Female
Humans
Life Change Events
Life events
Male
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Older people
Prospective Studies
Psychiatry
Risk factors
Self report
Social support
Symptoms
Thresholds
Uniqueness
Vulnerability
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Summary:Little research has been done on the uniqueness of risk profiles for depression and anxiety in late life. Delineating risk factors for the decline of mental health in older persons, comparing risk profiles for developing symptoms of pure depression, pure anxiety and both anxiety and depression in a prospective design. Self-report data on depression and anxiety were collected from community-dwelling older respondents (> or = 55 years) on two occasions, 3 years apart. Data from emotionally healthy respondents (n=1810) were used to investigate the effects of long-standing vulnerability factors and stressful life events. After 3 years 9% of the subjects had scored beyond the thresholds for symptoms. Vulnerability for depression and anxiety was quite similar, but life events differed: onset of depression was predicted by death of a partner or other relatives; onset of anxiety was best predicted by having a partner who developed a major illness. No support for moderator effects between vulnerability factors and stress was found; the effects were purely additive. Depression and anxiety have many risk factors in common, but specific risk factors also were found, especially in subjects developing both depression and anxiety.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.179.5.426