Anxiety, Depression and Quality of Life in Older Adults: Trajectories of Influence across Age

Abstract

This study focuses on the influence of anxiety and depression on individual trajectories of quality of life in old age through a longitudinal approach. A representative sample of adults aged 50+ living in Portugal and participating in wave 4 (W4) and wave 6 (W6) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project was considered. Participants, 1765 at baseline (W4) and 1201 at follow up (W6), were asked about their quality of life (CASP-12) and emotional status (Euro-D scale; five items from the Beck Anxiety Inventory). Linear Mixed Effects models were performed to identify factors associated with changes in quality of life across age. Increasing age was found to have a significant negative effect on quality of life. Lower education and higher levels of depression and anxiety at baseline were also associated with worse quality of life; 42.1% of the variation of CASP-12 across age was explained by fixed and random effects, being depression followed by anxiety as the factors that presented with the highest relative importance. Both depression and anxiety play an important role in quality of life in older adults and must be acknowledged as important intervention domains to foster healthy and active aging.

Influence of Active and Healthy Ageing on Quality of Life Changes: Insights from the Comparison of Three European Countries

“…In Portugal, older people were of particular concern, since their low incomes were affected by austerity measures, including freezing of pensions and cuts in social benefits, increases in costs of health care, public transport and other daily expenses [ 36 ]. Recent studies on Portuguese older adults reported the importance of socio-economic position and social support from family, friends, or significant others in mitigating inequalities in QoL in later life [ 37 ], as well as the role of anxiety and depression [ 38 ]. However, a timid recovery of the economic situation has been reported for the 2014–2021 period [ 34 ].…”

“…Another study on Spanish community-dwelling older adults found depression to be the most important determinant for overall QoL, and the only significant one among all studied dimensions [ 45 ]. Depression is also a longitudinal predictor of QoL [ 38 ]. Higher life satisfaction, a global QoL indicator, is also associated with factors such as perception of the household’s economic position and satisfaction with the way people live, together with objective good health, subjective perception of health, absence of depression and high residential satisfaction [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Impact of the Mass Media on Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, Psychological Well-Being and Physical Activity. Structural Equation Analysis

“…Thus, this leads individuals into an unhealthy lifestyle and reduces their emotional wellbeing [ 16 , 17 ]. Age and socio-economic factors are therefore a key issue in the adult population, as it has been shown that increasing age advocates a healthy state and improved quality of life, responsible use of mass media, consolidation of mental and emotional processes and improved psychological well-being [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

Physical Activity and Quality of Life of University Students, Their Parents, and Grandparents in Poland—Selected Determinants

“…The assessment of quality of life depends not only on the state of physical and mental health, level of independence, social relations, and environmental factors, but also on the individual attitude of a given person. Although the abovementioned definition of health according to the WHO clearly refers to quality of life, research on this subject was initiated relatively recently; in the 1990s, systematic studies in this field started to be undertaken [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. It is known from today that these studies should take into account, among others, the degree of satisfaction with health and family life, social relations, professional life, education, and specialization or universal standards affecting the quality of life in the local community, which the authors have pointed out in this study [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”