Social support and mobility limitation as modifiable predictors of improvement in depressive symptoms in the elderly: Results of a national longitudinal study

Few national longitudinal studies have investigated the predictors of a better depression outcome in geriatric depression. This study examined the predictors of improvement in case-level depressive symptoms in the elderly. In this prospective cohort and population-based study in Taiwan, 206 non-demented and case-level depressed subjects aged 65 and older were interviewed at baseline in 2003 and follow-up in 2007. The independent variables included demographics, chronic medical diseases, and health-related behaviors assessed at baseline. The dependent variable was depressive symptoms, assessed using the 10-item short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) assessed at follow-up. Multivariate analyses were used to identify the predictors of improvement in depression. The independent predictors of improvement in depression over a 4-year follow-up period are more social support and fewer mobility limitations at baseline. With regards to practical health-related behaviors, the 2 items of social support most associated with improvement in depression were willingness of significant others to talk with you and satisfaction with dependence upon significant others; the 2 items of mobility limitations most associated with non-improvement of depression were difficulty in carrying things and squatting. These findings suggested that health-related behaviors were important to the depression outcome in the elderly; moreover, interventions to improve depression should include practical health-related behaviors aimed at these modifiable risk factors.