Ahn SangNam, Kim Seonghoon, Zhang Hongmei
Division of Health Systems Management and Policy, School of Public Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
Department of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Dec 26;14(1):16. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14010016.
Depression severely affects older adults in the United States. As part of the social environment, significant social support was suggested to ameliorate depression among older adults. We investigate how varying forms of social support moderate depressive symptomatology among older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCC). Data were analyzed using a sample of 11,400 adults, aged 65 years or older, from the 2006-2012 Health and Retirement Study. The current study investigated the moderating effects of positive or negative social support from spouse, children, other family, and friends on the association between MCC and depression. A linear mixed model with repeated measures was used to estimate the effect of MCC on depression and its interactions with positive and negative social support in explaining depression among older adults. Varying forms of social support played different moderating roles in depressive symptomatology among older adults with MCC. Positive spousal support significantly weakened the deleterious effect of MCC on depression. Conversely, all negative social support from spouse, children, other family, and friends significantly strengthened the deleterious effect of MCC on depression. Minimizing negative social support and maximizing positive spousal support can reduce depression caused by MCC and lead to successful aging among older adults.
抑郁症严重影响美国的老年人。作为社会环境的一部分，有人提出充足的社会支持可以改善老年人的抑郁状况。我们研究了不同形式的社会支持如何调节患有多种慢性病（MCC）的老年人的抑郁症状。我们使用了2006年至2012年健康与退休研究中11400名65岁及以上成年人的数据样本进行分析。本研究调查了配偶、子女、其他家庭成员和朋友给予的积极或消极社会支持对MCC与抑郁症之间关联的调节作用。采用重复测量的线性混合模型来估计MCC对抑郁症的影响，以及它在解释老年人抑郁症时与积极和消极社会支持的相互作用。不同形式的社会支持在患有MCC的老年人的抑郁症状中发挥了不同的调节作用。配偶给予的积极支持显著减弱了MCC对抑郁症的有害影响。相反，配偶、子女、其他家庭成员和朋友给予的所有消极社会支持都显著增强了MCC对抑郁症的有害影响。尽量减少消极社会支持并最大化配偶给予的积极支持，可以减少MCC导致的抑郁症，并使老年人成功老龄化。
