Later-life transitions and changes in prescription medication use for pain and depression

Lam, Jack; Vuolo, Mike

doi:10.1186/s12877-022-02921-y

Cited by 2 publications

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“…We include numerous control variables that may be related to regularly taking prescription medications for pain or depression/anxiety, as well as loneliness ( Cohen-Mansfield et al., 2016 ; Han et al., 2009 ; Lam & Vuolo, 2022 ; Spinelli et al., 2017 ). These include measures at baseline marital status, employment status, the number of hours volunteering in the past year, number of grandchildren, reported pain level, whether the respondent has health insurance, a dichotomous variable for whether living in an urban or rural area, whether the respondent currently receives help for activities of daily living (ADL) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) issues or would be able to call on anyone for help in the future if they encountered ADL or IADL issues, gender, and race/ethnicity.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Associations Between Loneliness and Prescription Medication Use

Lam

Vuolo

2023

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B

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Objective Both loneliness and use of psychotropic drugs are common in later life. While loneliness has been found to be associated with psychotropic drugs use, most studies have been cross-sectional, and we know less about their longitudinal associations. Methods Drawing on five waves of data from Health and Retirement Study and two statistical approaches (fixed-effects and cross-lagged panel models), we examine longitudinal associations between loneliness and use of prescription pain and depression/anxiety medications. Results Across 57,654 observations among 20,589 respondents, 22.8% reported regular use of pain prescription medications, 17.8% regular use of depression/anxiety prescription medication, and 15.6% feeling lonely in the past week. Loneliness and use of depression/anxiety medications were associated according to both modelling approaches, net of covariates. In years when a respondent reported feeling lonely, odds of regular use of depression/anxiety medications were 1.42 times higher (p<.001) than years when they did not feel lonely. Regarding reciprocation, odds of regular depression/anxiety medication use in a given wave range from 1.3 to 1.5 times higher if loneliness was reported in prior wave. Likewise, the odds of reporting loneliness in a given wave range from 1.5 to 1.8 times higher if regular depression/anxiety medication was reported in prior wave. Discussion Prior loneliness predicts contemporaneous regular use of depression/anxiety prescription medications. While this confirms the directional association found in prior studies, we found prior use of depression/anxiety medications is also associated with increased odds of loneliness, suggesting further research is needed to understand mechanisms that explain their associations and potential interventions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Associations Between Loneliness and Prescription Medication Use

Lam

Vuolo

2023

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B

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Does Helping Others Always Benefit Health? Longitudinal Evidence on the Relationship between Helping Behavior and Depression: The Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction and the Moderating Effect of IADL

Cheng,

Wei,

Tang

2024

Depression and Anxiety

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Background. This study aims to explore whether helping behavior is always beneficial for alleviating depression or if there is a “moderation is the key” effect. Materials and Methods. This study focused on a sample of 7,436 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The 10‐item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD‐10) was used to identify the presence of depression. Linear mixed model and Quasi‐Bayesian estimation methods were used to explore the mediating role of life satisfaction in the relationship between helping behavior and depression, as well as the moderating effects of the instrumental activity of daily living (IADL). Additionally, we employed the Johnson–Neyman technique to visualize the moderating effect of IADL. Results. Helping behavior shows a negative correlation with depression (B = −0.170, p = 0.020), where life satisfaction fully mediates this relationship (effect = −0.055, 95% confidence interval = −0.088 to −0.022). Moreover, the association between helping behavior and life satisfaction is moderated by IADL (B = −0.047, p < 0.001). Specifically, when IADL is below 0.56, helping behavior positively impacts life satisfaction. In contrast, when IADL exceeds 1.99, helping behavior has a detrimental effect on life satisfaction. Conclusions. This study highlights the significant positive impact of helping behavior on depression alleviation, which is achieved by increasing life satisfaction. Notably, although helping behavior has positive effects on individuals, not everyone can benefit directly from it. Only those without functional limitations are more likely to experience the benefits of such behavior. Therefore, when policymakers and researchers develop strategies to encourage individuals in helping behavior to combat depression, they should consider two key approaches. First, life satisfaction should be used as an important indicator in the treatment of depression, allowing for timely adjustments to ensure the effectiveness and individualization of treatment plans. Second, the principle of “moderation is the key” should be prioritized, ensuring that helping behavior can maximize its benefits and help individuals emerge from the shadows of depression.

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Later-life transitions and changes in prescription medication use for pain and depression

Cited by 2 publications

References 84 publications

Longitudinal Associations Between Loneliness and Prescription Medication Use

Longitudinal Associations Between Loneliness and Prescription Medication Use

Does Helping Others Always Benefit Health? Longitudinal Evidence on the Relationship between Helping Behavior and Depression: The Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction and the Moderating Effect of IADL

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