Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Germany.
Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Germany.
J Affect Disord. 2018 Dec 1;241:94-102. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.07.070. Epub 2018 Jul 26.
Loss experiences and bereavement are common among the oldest old. This study aims to investigate the effects of loss experiences and the social network type on depression in old age.
As part of the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA 75+), a representative population-based cohort study, 783 persons aged 75+ years were assessed via standardized interviews including the Practitioner Assessment of Network Type Instrument (PANT) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Effects of loss experiences and network type on depression were analysed cross-sectionally (baseline survey) using logistic regressions. Effects over time were analysed longitudinally (follow-up1 and follow-up2) using hybrid techniques.
More than half of the elderly (57%) continuously lived in a restricted network. Only 12.1% lived in an integrated network. Although 30.9% had a change in their network, no significant association with loss experiences was found. Nevertheless, loss experiences (OR 7.56 (1.60-35.72)) and a restricted social network (OR 4.08 (1.52-10.95)) appeared to be the significant predictors of depression.
Our study captures only a selected time window of the individual life and loss experience was only assessed at the time of the baseline survey.
Our findings revealed that elderly individuals, who experienced social loss or lived in restricted social networks, were more likely to develop depression compared to individuals who lived in integrated social networks or without loss experiences. The social integration of elderly individuals is an urgent issue that should be addressed in order to reduce depression in old age.
丧失经历和丧亲之痛在老年人中很常见。本研究旨在探讨丧失经历和社交网络类型对老年期抑郁的影响。
作为莱比锡老年纵向研究（LEILA 75+）的一部分，这是一项基于代表性人群的队列研究，对 783 名 75 岁及以上的老年人进行了评估，评估方法包括标准化访谈、从业者评估网络类型工具（PANT）和流行病学研究中心抑郁量表（CES-D）。使用逻辑回归分析了丧失经历和网络类型对抑郁的横断面影响（基线调查）。使用混合技术分析了时间上的纵向影响（随访 1 和随访 2）。
超过一半的老年人（57%）持续生活在受限的网络中。只有 12.1%的老年人生活在一个整合的网络中。尽管 30.9%的老年人的网络发生了变化，但与丧失经历没有显著关联。尽管如此，丧失经历（OR 7.56（1.60-35.72））和受限的社交网络（OR 4.08（1.52-10.95））似乎是抑郁的显著预测因素。
我们的研究仅捕捉了个体生活的一个特定时间窗口，并且仅在基线调查时评估了丧失经历。
我们的研究结果表明，与生活在整合的社交网络或没有丧失经历的个体相比，经历社交丧失或生活在受限社交网络中的老年人更有可能患上抑郁症。因此，促进老年人的社会融合是解决老年期抑郁问题的紧迫任务。
