title: Social support and mobility limitation as modifiable predictors of improvement in depressive symptoms in the elderly: results of a national longitudinal study.
abstract: Few national longitudinal studies have investigated the predictors of a better depression outcome in geriatric depression. This study examined the predictors of improvement in case-level depressive symptoms in the elderly. In this prospective cohort and population-based study in Taiwan, 206 non-demented and case-level depressed subjects aged 65 and older were interviewed at baseline in 2003 and follow-up in 2007. The independent variables included demographics, chronic medical diseases, and health-related behaviors assessed at baseline. The dependent variable was depressive symptoms, assessed using the 10-item short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) assessed at follow-up. Multivariate analyses were used to identify the predictors of improvement in depression. The independent predictors of improvement in depression over a 4-year follow-up period are more social support and fewer mobility limitations at baseline. With regards to practical health-related behaviors, the 2 items of social support most associated with improvement in depression were willingness of significant others to talk with you and satisfaction with dependence upon significant others; the 2 items of mobility limitations most associated with non-improvement of depression were difficulty in carrying things and squatting. These findings suggested that health-related behaviors were important to the depression outcome in the elderly; moreover, interventions to improve depression should include practical health-related behaviors aimed at these modifiable risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo N. Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Te
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chih-Jung
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Meng-Chih
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hui-Sheng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Vincent Chin-Hung
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ming-Hong
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Chi-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Te-Jen
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology