Later-life mental health in Europe: a country-level comparison.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of country of residence on depression and well-being among older Europeans, after establishing the between-country measurement invariance of both constructs.


METHODS
We used data from a cross-sectional nationally representative population-based sample of older Europeans, the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analysis sample comprised 13,498 older Europeans from nine countries. The EURO-D was used to measure depression, and a well-being outcome was derived from self-report items available in SHARE. The between-country measurement invariance of both mental health outcomes was established using modern psychometric modeling techniques.


RESULTS
After adjustment for demographic characteristics and the presence of chronic illness, Spain was the country scoring highest on depression and Denmark highest on well-being. Optimal mental health was associated with higher educational attainment and being married.


CONCLUSIONS
There is considerable between-country heterogeneity in later-life mental health in Europe. The Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, and Austria, do best (low depression/high well-being), followed by Germany and France, whereas residents of Spain, Italy, and Greece report the worst mental health.
Centre for Population Studies, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, WC1B 3DP, UK. George.Ploubidis@LSHTM.ac.uk
George B
GB
Ploubidis
Emily
E
Grundy
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*