Factors associated with depressive symptoms in non-demented community-dwelling elderly.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the risk for depressive symptoms associated with age, education, ethnicity, gender, marital status, apolipoprotein E genotype (APOE) and memory complaints among non-demented elderly (> or = 60 years).


METHODS
Cross-sectional study of geriatric patients recruited from a free memory screening offered to the community.


METHODS
This investigation included 506 community-residing elderly subjects who were screened for cognitive impairment and classified as non-demented based on age and education-adjusted Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSAdj) scores of 24 or greater.


RESULTS
The prevalence of significant depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale > or = 12) was 12.1% (N = 61). Increased risk for depression was associated with female gender (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.1-4.8; p < 0.05), Cuban American ethnicity (OR = 4.9; 95% CI = 2.3-10.4; p < 0.0001) and memory complaints (OR = 1.3; 95% CI = 1.2-1.4; p < 0.0001). The APOE allele frequencies in the current sample were 0.07, 0.80 and 0.13 for the epsilon 2, epsilon 3 and epsilon 4 alleles, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that signs and symptoms of depression are common among non-demented elderly subjects in the community. In this study, mood disturbances were associated with Cuban American ethnicity, female gender and more memory complaints. Factors that were not confirmed by this study include age, education, marital status and APOE genotype. The observed APOE, epsilon 4 allele frequency of 0.13 supports the normal cognitive classification of the sample.
Harwood
D G
DG
Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL 33140, USA.
Barker
W W
WW
Ownby
R L
RL
Mullan
M
M
Duara
R
R
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003462:Cuba / Q000208:ethnology; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People