Lee Seung Hee, Kim Young Bum
1. Dept. of Nursing, University of Ulsan , Ulsan, South Korea.
2. Hallym University Institute of Aging, Hallym University , Chuncheon, South Korea.
Iran J Public Health. 2014 Jul;43(7):903-12.
The aim of this study was to examine whether formal and informal social activities are associated with a lower risk of depression. Besides, we investigated which type of social activities may protect against late-life depression by gender using data from a population-based study of older Korean adults.
Data for analysis were drawn from the 2010 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. Study sample included 3968 Korean adults aged ≥ 65 years. Depression was measured using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies. Depression scale. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used.
Among the informal activities, frequent contact by phone or letters with adult children is significantly associated with a lower risk of depression among older Korean adults, even after adjusting for potentially confounding factors. Face to face contact with close friends was negatively associated with depression in women, but not in men. Face to face contacts with adult children were not significantly associated with depression. All of formal social activities (attending religious activities, volunteering, and participating in alumni society or family councils, political or interest groups) were not significantly associated with depression in both men and women.
Informal social activities (contact by phone/letters with children and contact with friends) may have a greater impact on geriatric depression than formal social activities in this population. Researchers need to consider gender differences when examining the relationship between social activity and depression. More research is warranted to examine the direction of associations between particular types of social activities and late-life depression across time.
本研究旨在探讨正式和非正式社交活动是否与较低的抑郁症风险相关。此外，我们利用一项针对韩国老年人群的基于人群的研究数据，调查了哪种类型的社交活动可能按性别预防老年期抑郁症。
分析数据取自2010年韩国老年纵向研究。研究样本包括3968名年龄≥65岁的韩国成年人。使用10项流行病学研究中心抑郁量表测量抑郁症。采用多变量逻辑回归分析。
在非正式活动中，即使在调整潜在混杂因素后，与成年子女通过电话或信件频繁联系与韩国老年人较低的抑郁症风险显著相关。与亲密朋友面对面接触与女性抑郁症呈负相关，但与男性无关。与成年子女面对面接触与抑郁症无显著关联。所有正式社交活动（参加宗教活动、志愿服务、参加校友会或家庭委员会、政治或兴趣团体）与男性和女性的抑郁症均无显著关联。
在该人群中，非正式社交活动（与子女通过电话/信件联系以及与朋友接触）可能比正式社交活动对老年抑郁症的影响更大。研究人员在研究社交活动与抑郁症之间的关系时需要考虑性别差异。有必要进行更多研究以探讨特定类型社交活动与老年期抑郁症随时间的关联方向。
