Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social and Behavioral Risk Factors for Late-Life Depression

  • Chapter
Book cover Prevention of Late-Life Depression

Part of the book series: Aging Medicine ((AGME,volume 9))

  • 1227 Accesses

Abstract

We describe the roles of social, psychological, and behavioral risk factors in the development of late-life depression. These risk factors are considered within three major categories: sociodemographic, social/psychological, and lifestyle/behavioral; specific examples are provided of each. Attention is given to the contrast between readily modifiable vs. non-modifiable factors, as well as the implications for translating knowledge of risk factor-depression associations into late-life depression prevention strategies. Detailed description is provided on the current evidence regarding how these factors relate to the risk of incident depression among older adults, where emphasis is placed on evidence from well-conducted prospective studies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Schoevers RA, Smit F, Deeg DJ, Cuijpers P, Dekker J, van Tilburg W, Beekman AT. Prevention of late-life depression in primary care: do we know where to begin? Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163(9):1611–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Smit F, Ederveen A, Cuijpers P, Deeg D, Beekman A. Opportunities for cost-effective prevention of late-life depression: an epidemiological approach. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006;63(3):290–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Vink D, Aartsen MJ, Comijs HC, Heymans MW, Penninx BW, Stek ML, Deeg DJ, Beekman AT. Onset of anxiety and depression in the aging population: comparison of risk factors in a 9-year prospective study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2009;17(8):642–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Lyness JM, Yu Q, Tang W, Tu X, Conwell Y. Risks for depression onset in primary care elderly patients: potential targets for preventive interventions. Am J Psychiatry. 2009;166(12):1375–83.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Lenze EJ, Munin MC, Skidmore ER, Dew MA, Rogers JC, Whyte EM, Quear T, Begley A, Reynolds 3rd CF. Onset of depression in elderly persons after hip fracture: implications for prevention and early intervention of late-life depression. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007;55(1):81–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Groffen DA, Koster A, Bosma H, van den Akker M, Aspelund T, Siggeirsdottir K, Kempen GI, van Eijk JT, Eiriksdottir G, Jonsson PV, Launer LJ, Gudnason V, Harris TB. Socioeconomic factors from midlife predict mobility limitation and depressed mood three decades later; findings from the AGES-Reykjavik Study. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:101.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Kim J, Durden E. Socioeconomic status and age trajectories of health. Soc Sci Med. 2007;65(12):2489–502.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Lorant V, Deliege D, Eaton W, Robert A, Philippot P, Ansseau M. Socioeconomic inequalities in depression: a meta-analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 2003;157(2):98–112.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hughes ME, Waite LJ. Health in household context: living arrangements and health in late middle age. J Health Soc Behav. 2002;43(1):1–21.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Cole MG, Dendukuri N. Risk factors for depression among elderly community subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160(6):1147–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Blazer D, Burchett B, Service C, George LK. The association of age and depression among the elderly: an epidemiologic exploration. J Gerontol. 1991;46(6):M210–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Green BH, Copeland JR, Dewey ME, Sharma V, Saunders PA, Davidson IA, Sullivan C, McWilliam C. Risk factors for depression in elderly people: a prospective study. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1992;86(3):213–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Gureje O, Oladeji B, Abiona T. Incidence and risk factors for late-life depression in the Ibadan Study of Ageing. Psychol Med. 2011;41(9):1897–906.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Schoevers RA, Beekman AT, Deeg DJ, Geerlings MI, Jonker C, Van Tilburg W. Risk factors for depression in later life; results of a prospective community based study (AMSTEL). J Affect Disord. 2000;59(2):127–37.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Wilson K, Mottram P, Sixsmith A. Depressive symptoms in the very old living alone: prevalence, incidence and risk factors. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007;22(4):361–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Turvey CL, Carney C, Arndt S, Wallace RB, Herzog R. Conjugal loss and syndromal depression in a sample of elders aged 70 years or older. Am J Psychiatry. 1999;156(10):1596–601.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Holley CK, Mast BT. The effects of widowhood and vascular risk factors on late-life depression. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007;15(8):690–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Adelman RD, Tmanova LL, Delgado D, Dion S, Lachs MS. Caregiver burden: a clinical review. JAMA. 2014;311(10):1052–60.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Schulz R, Rosen J, Klinger J, Musa D, Castle NG, Kane A, Lustig A. Effects of a psychosocial intervention on caregivers of recently placed nursing home residents: a Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Gerontol. 2014;37(4):347–67.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Lykens K, Moayad N, Biswas S, Reyes-Ortiz C, Singh KP. Impact of a community based implementation of REACH II program for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. PLoS One. 2014;9(2):e89290.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Harlow SD, Goldberg EL, Comstock GW. A longitudinal study of risk factors for depressive symptomatology in elderly widowed and married women. Am J Epidemiol. 1991;134(5):526–38.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Jaremka LM, Andridge RR, Fagundes CP, Alfano CM, Povoski SP, Lipari AM, Agnese DM, Arnold MW, Farrar WB, Yee LD, Carson III WE, Bekaii-Saab T, Martin Jr EW, Schmidt CR, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Pain, depression, and fatigue: loneliness as a longitudinal risk factor. Health Psychol. 2014;33(9):948–57.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Cui X, Lyness JM, Tang W, Tu X, Conwell Y. Outcomes and predictors of late-life depression trajectories in older primary care patients. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008;16(5):406–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Cole MG, McCusker J, Ciampi A, Belzile E. Risk factors for major depression in older medical inpatients: a prospective study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008;16(2):175–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Weyerer S, Eifflaender-Gorfer S, Wiese B, Luppa M, Pentzek M, Bickel H, Bachmann C, Scherer M, Maier W, Riedel-Heller SG. Incidence and predictors of depression in non-demented primary care attenders aged 75 years and older: results from a 3-year follow-up study. Age Ageing. 2013;42(2):173–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Saunders PA, Copeland JR, Dewey ME, Davidson IA, McWilliam C, Sharma V, Sullivan C. Heavy drinking as a risk factor for depression and dementia in elderly men. Findings from the Liverpool longitudinal community study. Br J Psychiatry. 1991;159:213–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Hodge A, Almeida OP, English DR, Giles GG, Flicker L. Patterns of dietary intake and psychological distress in older Australians: benefits not just from a Mediterranean diet. Int Psychogeriatr. 2013;25(3):456–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Strawbridge WJ, Deleger S, Roberts RE, Kaplan GA. Physical activity reduces the risk of subsequent depression for older adults. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;156(4):328–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Almeida OP, Calver J, Jamrozik K, Hankey GJ, Flicker L. Obesity and metabolic syndrome increase the risk of incident depression in older men: the health in men study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2009;17(10):889–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Magnil M, Janmarker L, Gunnarsson R, Bjorkelund C. Course, risk factors, and prognostic factors in elderly primary care patients with mild depression: a two-year observational study. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2013;31(1):20–5.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Underwood M, Lamb SE, Eldridge S, Sheehan B, Slowther AM, Spencer A, Thorogood M, Atherton N, Bremner SA, Devine A, Diaz-Ordaz K, Ellard DR, Potter R, Spanjers K, Taylor SJ. Exercise for depression in elderly residents of care homes: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2013;382(9886):41–9.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Ankura Singh M.P.H

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Avenue, 3rd floor, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Olivia I. Okereke M.D., M.S.

Authors
  1. Ankura Singh M.P.H
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Olivia I. Okereke M.D., M.S.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Olivia I. Okereke M.D., M.S. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Olivia I. Okereke

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Singh, A., Okereke, O.I. (2015). Social and Behavioral Risk Factors for Late-Life Depression. In: Okereke, O. (eds) Prevention of Late-Life Depression. Aging Medicine, vol 9. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16045-0_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16045-0_3

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16044-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16045-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation