Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T09:18:23.044Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Patterns of depressive symptoms among younger elderly (60–74 years old) and older elderly (≥75 years old) in Jamaica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2018

Roger C. Gibson Open the ORCID record for Roger C. Gibson [Opens in a new window] ,
Kenneth James ,
Norman K. Waldron ,
Wendel D. Abel ,
Denise Eldemire-Shearer  and
Kathryn Mitchell-Fearon
Roger C. Gibson*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health & Psychiatry, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Kenneth James
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health & Psychiatry, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Norman K. Waldron
Affiliation:
The Mona Ageing & Wellness Centre, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Wendel D. Abel
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health & Psychiatry, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Denise Eldemire-Shearer
Affiliation:
The Mona Ageing & Wellness Centre, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Kathryn Mitchell-Fearon
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health & Psychiatry, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Roger C. Gibson, Department of Community Health & Psychiatry, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica. Phone: 876-927-2492; Fax: 876-970-4679. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives:

We sought to explore factors associated with depressive symptom severity among older persons (≥60 years of age) and to compare the depressive symptoms commonly experienced by older elderly (≥75 years) with those commonly experienced by younger elderly (<75 years).

Design:

Secondary analysis was conducted on data from a nationally representative survey.

Setting:

Four parishes in Jamaica.

Participants:

A total of 2,943 older community dwellers participated.

Measurements:

The survey included the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (ZSDS), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and items on age, sex, and educational level. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the association between ZSDS score and: age, sex, MMSE score, and educational level. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine, for each ZSDS item, whether particular responses were more associated with older or younger elderly.

Results:

Higher ZSDS scores were associated with increasing age (B = 0.13, p < 0.001), lower MMSE score (B = −0.42, p < 0.001), the female sex (B = 3.52, p < 0.001), and lower educational level (B = −1.27, p < 0.001). The ZSDS items that were endorsed significantly more (p < 0.05) by older elderly related to negative evaluations about their functionality and value. Hopelessness was also more prominent among the older elderly. The items that were endorsed significantly more (p < 0.05) by the younger elderly had less of a focus.

Conclusion:

Among older persons, increasing age was associated with marginally higher levels of depressive symptoms. Female gender, cognitive deficits, preoccupations about value and functionality, and feelings of hopelessness may serve as useful screening parameters.

Keywords

depressionelderlyageing
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 31 , Issue 8: Issue Theme: Dementia Care , August 2019 , pp. 1217 - 1224
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agrell, B. and Dehlin, O. (1989). Comparison of six depression rating scales in geriatric stroke patients. Stroke, 20, 1190–1194. doi: 10.1161/01.STR.20.9.1190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baker-Henningham, H., Scott, S., Jones, K. and Walker, S. (2012). Reducing child conduct problems and promoting social skills in a developing country: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Psychology, 201, 101–108. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.096834.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brodaty, H. et al. (2001). Early and late onset depression in old age: different aetiologies, same phenomenology. Journal of Affective Disorders, 66, 225–236. doi: 10.1016/S0165-0327(00)00317-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fletcher, S. M. et al. (2013). Magnitude, distribution, and estimated level of underreporting of acute gastroenteritis in Jamaica. Journal of Health and Population Nutrition, 31, 69–80.Google ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini Mental State.” A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198. doi: 10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ganguli, M. (2009). Depression, cognitive impairment and dementia: why should clinicians care about the web of causation? Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 29–34.Google ScholarPubMed
Gibson, R. C., Neita, S. M., Abel, W. D., James, K. and Eldemire-Shearer, D. (2013). Sociodemographic factors associated with depressive symptoms among elderly persons from two communities in Kingston Jamaica. West Indian Medical Journal, 62, 615–619. doi: 10.7727/wimj.2012.273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gournellis, R., Oulis, P., Rizos, E., Chourdaki, E., Gouzaris, A. and Lykouras, L. (2011). Clinical correlates of age of onset in psychotic depression. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 52, 94–98. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2010.02.007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Griffin, P. T. and Kogut, D. (1988). Validity of orally administered Beck and Zung depression scales in a state hospital setting. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 756–759. doi: 10.1002/1097-4679(198809)44:5<756::AID-JCLP2270440515>3.0.CO;2-Z.3.0.CO;2-Z>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegeman, J., Kok, R. M., van der Mast, R. C. and Giltay, E. J. (2012). Phenomenology of depression in older compared with younger adults: meta-analysis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 200, 275–281. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.095950.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herr, M., Arvieu, J. J., Aegerter, P., Robine, J. M. and Ankri, J. (2014). Unmet health care needs of older people: prevalence and predictors in a French cross-sectional survey. European Journal of Public Health, 24, 808–813. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckt179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyde, J. S., Mezulis, A. H. and Abramson, L. Y. (2008). The ABCs of depression: integrating affective, biological and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender difference in depression. Psychological Review, 115, 291–313. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.115.2.291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Innamorati, M. et al. (2014). Suicide in the old elderly: results from one Italian county. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 22, 1158–1167. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2013.03.003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le Franc, E., Samms-Vaughan, M., Hambleton, I., Fox, K. and Brown, D. (2008). Interpersonal violence in three Caribbean countries: Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Revista Panamericana de Salud Mental, 246, 409–421. doi: 10.1590/s1020-49892008001200005.Google Scholar
Li, L. W., Ding, D., Wu, B. and Dong, X. (2017). Change of cognitive function of US Chinese older adults: a population-based study. Journal of Gerontology Series A, 72, S5–S10. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glx004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, R. T., Kleiman, E. M., Nestor, B. A. and Cheek, S. M. (2015). The hopelessness theory of depression: a quarter century in review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 22, 345–365. doi: 10.1111/cpsp.12125.Google Scholar
Mehta, M. et al. (2008). Depressive symptoms in late life: associations with apathy, resilience and disability vary between young-old and old-old. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23, 238–243. doi: 10.1002/gps.1868.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell-Fearon, K., Waldron, N., James, K., Laws, H., Holder-Nevins, D. and Eldemire-Shearer, D. (2012). Hypertension and diabetes prevalence in older persons in Jamaica. West Indian Medical Journal, 63, 416–423. doi: 10.7727/wimj.2014.065.Google Scholar
Raccah, D., Miossec, P., Esposito, V., Niemoeller, E., Cho, M. and Gerich, J. (2014). Efficacy and safety of lixisenatide in elderly (≥65 years old) and very elderly (≥75 years old) patients with type 2 diabetes: an analysis from the GetGoal phase III programme. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 31, 204–211. doi: 10.1002/dmrr.2588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sadek, N. and Bona, J. (2000). Subsyndromal symptomatic depression: a new concept. Depression and Anxiety, 12, 30–39. doi: 10.1002/1520-6394(2000)12:1<30::AID-DA4>3.0.CO;2-P.3.0.CO;2-P>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheetz, L. T., Martin, P. and Poon, L. W. (2012). Do centenarians show higher levels of depression? Findings from the Georgia Centenarian study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 60, 238–242. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03828.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stage, K. B., Bech, P., Kragh-Sorensen, P., Nair, N. P. and Katona, C. (2001). Differences in symptomatology and diagnosis profile in younger and elderly depressed inpatients. Journal of Affective Disorders, 64, 239–248. doi: 10.1016/S0165-0327(00)00245-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stek, M. L., Gussekloo, J., Beekman, A. T. F., van Tilburg, W. and Westendorp, R. G. J. (2004). Prevalence, correlates and recognition of depression in the oldest old: the Leiden 85-plus study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 78, 193–200. doi: 10.1016/S0165-0327(02)00310-5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Topinkova, E. (2008). Aging, disability and frailty. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 52, 6–11. doi: 10.1159/000115340.Google ScholarPubMed
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2015). World Population Ageing 2015. New York: United Nations.Google Scholar
Vincent, G. K. and Velkoff, V. A. (2010). The next four decades. The older population in the United States: 2010 to 2015. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p25-1138.pdf, accessed August 12, 2017.Google Scholar
Ward, T., Matthies, B., Wright, E., Crossman, L. and Hickling, F. (2001). Validation of the Zung depression scale in a Jamaican population. West Indian Medical Journal, 50, 25–26.Google Scholar
Wilks, R., Younger, N., Tulloch-Reid, M., McFarlane, S. and Francis, D. (2008). Jamaica health and lifestyle survey 2007-8. Technical report. Kingston: The University of the West Indies.Google Scholar
Yesavage, J. A. et al. (1982–1983). Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 17, 37–49. doi: 10.1016/0022-3956(82)90033-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zung, W. W. (1965). A self-rating depression scale. Archives of General Psychiatry, 12, 63–70. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1965.01720310065008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed