title: Anxiety and depression in adults in their eighties: do gender differences remain?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Women report higher rates of depression and anxiety than men; however, it is uncertain whether this gender difference continues into advanced old age.
  
  
  METHODS
  78 men and 111 women aged 82-87 years from the Men, Women and Ageing Project completed measures of anxiety (Geriatric Anxiety Inventory), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ9), general psychological well-being (Mental Health subscale of SF-36), general health (general health item of SF-36) and cognitive status (Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status; TICS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results revealed no significant gender differences on any of the psychological measures, after controlling for cognitive status, general health and education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results support the proposition that the female predominance in psychological distress diminishes with increasing age. The congruence between men and women may reflect changes in identity associated with age or the effect of decreased emotional valence of some social roles.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Psychology, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Nancy A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Pachana
authors.forename: Deirdre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.forename: Janni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dobson
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors