Gender-Specific Predictors of Depressive Symptoms among Community Elderly

We aimed to determine the gender-specific predictors of depressive symptoms among an Iranian elderly community population. A cross-sectional study. This study was performed on elderly subjects (aged ≥60 yr) who participated in the Amirkola Health and Aging Project, Amirkola, Babol, northern Iran in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of research in health sciences 2017-04, Vol.17 (2), p.e00377-e00377
Main Authors: Faramarzi, Mahbobeh, Cheraghi, Mahla, Zamani, Mohammad, Kheirkhah, Farzan, Bijani, Ali, Hosseini, Seyed Reza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression - epidemiology
Female
Geriatric Assessment
Humans
Independent Living
Iran - epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Original
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
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Summary:We aimed to determine the gender-specific predictors of depressive symptoms among an Iranian elderly community population. A cross-sectional study. This study was performed on elderly subjects (aged ≥60 yr) who participated in the Amirkola Health and Aging Project, Amirkola, Babol, northern Iran in 2011-12. Depression was assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale. Fourteen variables, including marital status, age, education, occupation, living alone, social support, dependency in daily activities, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, chronic pain, medicine use, comorbidities, and cognitive impairment, were analyzed as predictors of depression. In males, age group of 80-84 yr (odds ratio (OR)=0.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09, 0.55), occupation (OR=0.62, 95% CI: 0.42, 0.90) and social support (OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.77, 0.88) had protective effects against depression, and smoking (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.15, 2.44), cognitive impairment (OR=2.18, 95% CI: 1.34, 3.45) and comorbidities(OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.60) were found as risk factors. In females, social support (OR=0.97, 95% CI: 0.65, 1.44) and higher education (OR=0.10, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.84) were two protective factors against depression, and being unmarried (OR=1.88, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.35), cognitive impairment (OR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.21), comorbidities(OR=1.30, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.44) and chronic pain (OR=1.57, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.44) were four positive predictors of depression. There were both similarities and differences in predictors of depression between old males and females. These findings suggest physicians and healthcare executives consider gender-specific risk/protective factors to improve preventive mental health programs in older males and females.
ISSN:2228-7795
2228-7809