title: Self-rated health and depressive symptoms in patients with end-stage renal disease and their spouses: a longitudinal dyadic analysis of late-life marriages.
abstract: Limited research has examined the ways in which changes in self-rated health experienced by aging spouses affect depressive symptoms of both members of the dyad. Longitudinal data from 315 older couples in which one partner had end-stage renal disease were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Results indicate that for both patients and spouses, own mean self-rated health was associated with own depressive symptoms, and change in self-rated health had a significant negative association with change in own depressive symptoms. Both mean self-rated health of the patient and change in patient's self-rated health had negative relationships with spouse depressive symptoms, with changes in patient's self-rated health having a stronger impact on spouse depressive symptoms than changes in spouse's own self-rated health. Results suggest the importance of understanding physical and mental health in the context of the marital dyad.
authors.affiliation: New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 42 East Laurel Road, Suite 2300, Stratford, NJ 08084, USA. pruchnra@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pruchno
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilson-Genderson
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cartwright
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012803:Sick Role; D013223:Statistics as Topic