Health asymmetry as a predictor of depressive symptomatology over time among older European adults: A growth curve analysis.

OBJECTIVE

Subjective (SH) and objective health (OH) measures are associated with depressive symptomatology in older adults. We explored whether the discrepancy between SH and OH (operationalised as 'health asymmetry' with four categories: 'health optimistic', 'health pessimistic' and 'good health realistic' and 'poor health realistic') may also relate to depressive symptomatology 1) cross-sectionally, and 2) longitudinally, among older European adults.

METHODS

Adults (n = 26,520), aged 50+, from 11 European countries, were assessed over six waves of data collection (2006-2020) in the SHARE study. A hierarchical multi-level growth curve model explored whether health asymmetry was associated with depressive symptomology at baseline, and with depressive symptom trajectories across time, accounting for country of origin.

RESULTS

At baseline, 11.8% of older adults were classified as health pessimistic, with 15.5% being health optimistic, 42.9% being poor health realistic and 29.8% being good health realistic. A positive linear trend in depressive symptomatology was noted across 14 years of SHARE data (β = 0.11, p < .001). Health pessimists displayed higher levels of depressive symptoms than both health realistic groups and health optimists. However, health pessimists experienced a less steep increase in depressive symptoms across time (β = -0.10, p < .001), relative to good health realists.

CONCLUSION

Health pessimists experience elevated levels of depressive symptoms, but show less growth in depressive symptomatology than expected. Further research is required to understand the underlying causes of the varying depressive symptom trajectories among these groups.