title: Marital status and risk for late life depression: a meta-analysis of the published literature.
abstract: This study assessed the relationship between marital status and the risk for depression in people ≥ 55 years old. Using the Medline™, EMBASE™ and Cochrane Library databases, clinical studies that published data on the association between marital status and risk of depression  among individuals aged ≥ 55 years were identified. A quantitative meta-analysis of 24 cross-sectional and eight longitudinal studies was performed. Compared with married elderly people, unmarried elderly people had a higher risk for depression (odds ratio [OR], 1.55; relative risk [RR],  1.36). Compared with married elderly people, the widowed elderly people (OR 1.49; RR 1.71), divorced people (RR 2.14) and never-married people (OR 1.32) had a higher risk for depression. Among elderly unmarried people, widowed people had a higher risk for depression than those who never married  (OR 1.51). In conclusion, being unmarried was an important risk factor for depression in elderly people.
authors: Department of Nephrology, The West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors: X-Y
authors: XY
authors: Yan
authors: S-M
authors: SM
authors: Huang
authors: C-Q
authors: CQ
authors: Huang
authors: W-H
authors: WH
authors: Wu
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Qin
mesh_terms: D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors