title: Predictors of 30-year mortality in depressed and comparison samples.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although higher rates of depression and lower rates of social behaviors (i.e., social support and activities) and physical activities are associated with mortality, the independent contribution of each of these factors needs examination.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective sample of 848 individuals (55% female) was used; half were clinically depressed at baseline; the other half comprised a comparison sample matched on census tract, gender, and marital status. Depressive symptoms, social behaviors, and physical activities were examined as time-varying predictors of mortality over a 30-year period using multiple imputation for missing data and Cox proportional hazards regression, controlling for demographic factors and health risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By the end of the study, 137 individuals from the depressed sample and 99 individuals from the comparison sample had died. Although the mortality rate is higher in the depressed sample, after controlling for demographic, health risk factors, social behaviors, and physical activity, there was no significant difference in mortality between the depressed and control samples. Among participants in the depressed sample, reduced participation in social activities was significantly associated with a higher risk of mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Frequency and intensity of activities were not assessed and all data except for mortality were self-report.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Promoting social engagement through activities may hold promise for delaying mortality among individuals who are depressed. Potential methods to promote social engagement and factors such as positive emotions that should be considered in future studies are discussed.
authors.affiliation: VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Center for Innovation to Implementation, USA; Stanford University School of Medicine, USA. Electronic address: Andrea.Finlay@va.gov.
authors.forename: Andrea K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Finlay
authors.affiliation: VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Center for Innovation to Implementation, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.affiliation: VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Center for Innovation to Implementation, USA; Stanford University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Timko
authors.affiliation: VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Center for Innovation to Implementation, USA; Stanford University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, USA.
authors.forename: Rudolf H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Moos
authors.affiliation: VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Center for Innovation to Implementation, USA; Department of Sociology, Stanford University, USA; Stanford University, Center for Primary Care Outcomes Research, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cronkite
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011998:Recreation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Depressive symptoms; Longitudinal prospective study; Mortality; Physical activities; Social behaviors