Depressive Disorder as a Predictor of Physical Disability in Old Age

Abstract

Depression that developed during the follow-up in previously nondepressed persons was associated with an increased risk for lowering of functional abilities, even when controlling for age, sociodemographic factors, physical diseases, and baseline disabilities. Depressed older people are at high risk for physical disability, and an individually planned program to maintain their functional abilities by training in ADLs and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and physical exercise should be included in their treatment.

Depression in the oldest old in urban and rural municipalities

“…Barthels ADL-index was generally lower among those with depression, in line with findings that physical disabilities constitute a risk factor for depression (Blazer, 2003;Heikkinen & Kauppinen, 2004;Steffens et al, 2000) as depression has been shown to be a risk factor for physical disabilities (Kivela & Pahkala, 2001). However, no differences between the depressed participants in the different areas could be found.…”

“…An inadequate social network (network size, network composition, social contact frequency, satisfaction with social support and instrumental-emotional support) (Chou & Chi, 2003) and a low educational level (Ganguli et al, 1999) also seem to function as risk factors for developing depression in late life. Depression also affects the outcome of comorbidities, since it decreases both physical (Kivela & Pahkala, 2001) and cognitive functioning (Blazer, 2003;Butters et al, 2004).…”

Positive life orientation as a predictor of 10-year outcome in an aged population

“…Negative emotions, such as depression and feelings of loneliness, have been found to be significant predictors of declining health status in old age [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Much less attention has been paid to the impact of positive emotions in old age [9][10][11].…”

The influence of financial, human and social capital on Japanese men’s and women’s health in single- and two-parent family structures

“…Depression is typically used as a specific indicator of health, though it is important to note that empirical evidence suggests that depression works to negatively influence a person's overall health (Carroll, Caddigy, & Cote, 2004;Ettner, 1996;Kivela & Pahkala, 2001;Mulsant, Ganguli, & Seaberg, 1997). For this reason, depression is included as a control variable.…”