Gender, social relationships and depressive disorders in adults aged 65 and over in Quebec

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine if social relationships have a differential association with the presence of depression in men and women aged 65 and over. Data came from a survey of a representative sample of 2670 community-dwelling older adults in Quebec. Depressive disorders were measured using DSM-IV criteria. The prevalence of depression was 17.8% for women and 7.6% for men. Men reported a greater diversity of ties but less support than women. Having a confidant and/or being engaged in a good marital relationship was negatively associated with depression in both men and women. Compared with married people in general, widowhood was associated with a considerably higher risk of depression in men than in women. Compared with non-volunteers in general, men who volunteer were at considerably lower risk of depression than women who volunteer. This exploratory study could serve as a basis for future longitudinal studies on the impact of community activities and volunteering on the incidence and remission of depression in older men and women in Canada.

Depressive symptoms and use of health services among older adults in Israel

“…Our findings regarding the characteristics of older adults suffering from depressive symptoms reinforce those of other studies regarding the risk factors of being female, being older, and living alone [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. We showed that depressive symptoms are associated with an increased disability burden in older adults.…”

“…Studies have also identified risk factors for symptoms of late-life depression that include demographic characteristics, such as female gender and higher age [13,[15][16][17][18][19], chronic medical illnesses [20], physical impairment, frailty, poor self-rated health [21,22], and distressing family and life events [21,23,24].…”

Associations of Social Relationships with Consultation for Symptoms of Depression: A Community Study of Depression in Older Men and Women in Québec

“…Severity of depression (major or minor) was estimated using the ESA Diagnostic Questionnaire (ESA-Q), a computer questionnaire developed by the research team (Préville, et al, 2008) �sing DSM-IV criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Description of this s�rvey an� severity of the �epression is availa�le in previo�s p��lications (Préville, et al, 2008;Mechakra-Tahiri, et al, 2009;Mechakra-Tahiri, Zunzunegui, Préville, & Dubé, 2010). A 12-month recall perio� �as �se�.…”