The burden of depressive symptoms and various chronic conditions and health concerns on the quality of life among those with Medicare Supplement Insurance.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to estimate the burden of currently having depressive symptoms on quality of life independently and in combination with various chronic conditions/health concerns among adults with Medicare Supplement Insurance (i.e., Medigap) coverage.


METHODS
Data were obtained from the Health Update Survey (HUS). The HUS contains questions on demographics, comorbid conditions, and all of the questions on the Veterans RAND 12-item (VR-12) health status/quality of life survey. The survey was mailed to a random sample of 30,000 insureds from 10 states between 2008 and 2009. On the basis of relevant questions from the survey, respondents were categorized into two groups: those currently suffering from current depressive symptoms (N = 2283) and those who never had depressive symptoms (N = 7058). Multiple regression modeling was used to test the impact on quality of life of depressive symptoms independently or as an interaction of depressive symptoms with various chronic conditions/health concerns.


RESULTS
Depressive symptoms were common, with an estimated prevalence of 24.4%. The greatest impact of depressive symptoms in combination with various chronic conditions/health concerns on quality of life was on the ability to handle emotional roles, bodily pain, social functioning, and ability to handle physical roles. Most of the significant interactions between depressive symptoms and various chronic conditions/health concerns were demonstrated for those chronic conditions contributing to functional impairment (e.g., difficulty walking, falls, chronic pain, and diabetes).


CONCLUSIONS
Although depressive symptoms independently reduced quality of life, having depressive symptoms in addition to other chronic conditions/health concerns had a greater impact on quality of life.
UnitedHealth Group Alliances, Minnetonka, MN, USA. Ozminkowski@Optum.com
Ronald J
RJ
Ozminkowski
Shirley
S
Musich
Frank G
FG
Bottone
Kevin
K
Hawkins
Ming
M
Bai
Jürgen
J
Unützer
Cynthia E
CE
Hommer
Richard J
RJ
Migliori
Charlotte S
CS
Yeh
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology