title: Social and environmental factors and dysthymic disorder in old age.
abstract: This community-based epidemiological survey is concerned with relationships between social and environmental factors and dysthymic disorder (long-lasting depression according to the DSM-III classification) in a Finnish population aged 60 years or over. A greater proportion of dysthymic than non-depressed men had retired and did not work at all. The occurrence of dysthymic disorders in both men and women was related to retirement because of sickness rather than age, a small number of rooms in their homes, lack of intimate friendships and the occurrence of many long-standing and current social stress factors. The dysthymic women had lived at their present place of residence for a shorter period than had the non-depressed women. A positive association of dysthymic disorders with moving house due to poor health and living in institutions was also found in the men, and with a low number of hobbies and poor social participation in the women. In addition, the dysthymic women felt their relationships with their spouse, children, daughters-in-law and friends to be more distant than did their non-depressed counterparts. The dysthymic women also felt that elderly people were not appreciated. The log-linear models showed three interactions for the dysthymic men and six for the dysthymic women. The dysthymic persons reported a significantly larger number of detrimental events of an interpersonal nature than did the non-depressed persons.
authors.affiliation: Social Welfare and Health Department, Vaasa, Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pahkala
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Kivelä
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laippala
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D008016:Life Change Events; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012179:Retirement; D012931:Social Environment; D012934:Social Isolation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology