Search

Aims: To evaluate the bidirectional relationship between blood pressure (BP) and depressive symptoms using a large prospective cohort study., Methods: Prospective cohort study was performed in 276 244 adults who participated in a regular health check-up and were followed annually or biennially for up to 5.9 years. BP levels were categorised according to the 2017 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association hypertension guidelines. Depressive symptoms were assessed using Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CESD) questionnaire and a cut-off score of ≥25 was regarded as case-level depressive symptoms., Results: During 672 603.3 person-years of follow-up, 5222 participants developed case-level depressive symptoms. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) [95% confidence interval (CI)] for incident case-level depressive symptoms comparing hypotension, elevated BP, hypertension stage 1 and hypertension stage 2 to normal BP were 1.07 (0.99-1.16), 0.93 (0.82-1.05), 0.89 (0.81-0.97) and 0.81 (0.62-1.06), respectively (p for trend <0.001). During 583 615.3 person-years of follow-up, 27 787 participants developed hypertension. The multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CI) for incident hypertension comparing CESD 16-24 and ⩾25 to CESD < 16 were 1.05 (1.01-1.11) and 1.12 (1.03-1.20), respectively (p for trend <0.001) and in the time-dependent models, corresponding HRs (95% CI) were 1.12 (1.02-1.24) and 1.29 (1.10-1.50), respectively (p for trend <0.001)., Conclusions: In this large cohort study of young and middle-aged individuals, higher BP levels were independently associated with a decreased risk for developing case-level depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms were also associated with incident hypertension. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the bidirectional association between BP levels and incident depression.

Background: Retirement is one of the most important later-life status transitions related to changes in workforce participation, lifestyle, and social roles among older adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of retirement on depressive symptoms by gender in middle-aged and older adult Koreans, using a large, nationally representative sample., Methods: Using year 2010 and 2012 data from the Korea Longitudinal Study of Aging, we investigated the relationship between adults' retirement status and depressive symptoms measured by the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D10) scale. A series of propensity score matching models were calculated to test the potential retirement effect on adults' depressive symptoms., Results: Overall, the level of depressive symptoms of the retired group was not different from that of the employed counterpart. In gender-stratified models, the gain of CES-D10 scores in the retired group was higher than that of the employed group for males, which was in the opposite direction among females. However, the propensity score matching model showed that the relationship between retirement status and CES-D10 score gain was significant for males but not for females., Conclusions: Our study reinforces the assertion that retirement could worsen depressive symptoms and could differ by gender. Intervention programs focused on the mental health of retired men need to be actively developed and widely implemented., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Depression in persons with physical disabilities may be more common than in the general population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical disability and depression by gender among adults, using a large, nationally representative sample., Methods: This study used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, Wave one through four, and ran a series of random effect panel regression models to test the relationship between physical disability status and depression by gender. We tested the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between disability status and depression level by examining the significance of the cross-product term between disability status and gender., Results: After controlling for self-rated health, marital status, employment status, education, and age, subjects who were female or diagnosed as having any disability presented higher levels of depression scores. Further, the difference in terms of their depression level measured by Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10) scores between those who were diagnosed as having any disability and those who were not was greater for females than for their male counterparts., Conclusion: This study reaffirmed that disability is the risk factor of depression, using longitudinal data. In addition, female gender is the effect modifier rather than the risk factor. The effect of gender in the non-disability group, mostly composed of older persons, is limited. On the contrary, the female disability group showed more depressive symptoms than the male disability group. The gender difference in the disability group and the role of culture on these differences need further research., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: The relationship between weight problems and depression has been the focus of many studies; however, results from these studies vary. The purpose of this study is to describe the association between depression and BMI using data from a national sample of middle aged and older Koreans and to examine whether gender moderates the relationship between depression and weight., Methods: We used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Of the 7,920 respondents that participated in KLoSA in 2010, 7,672 adults aged between 50 and 102 years were included in the final analysis. The relationship between depression and obesity status was examined in both the full sample and in sub-samples stratified by gender. The observed U-shaped association between obesity status and CES-D score was tested by regressing CES-D score on linear and quadratic terms of BMI scores., Results: The distribution of CES-D scores by respondents' obesity status (i.e., underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese and severely obese) showed a U-shaped association. Specifically, the highest CES-D scores were found in underweight individuals; this was followed by the severely obese and obese groups in the full sample and in gender-specific subsamples. The lowest CES-D scores were found in the overweight group when considering the entire population and males alone and in the normal weight group for females. This U-shaped association between CES-D and obesity status was confirmed by a model in which CES-D scores were regressed on BMI scores and other covariates., Conclusions: This study found a U-shaped association between BMI and levels of depressive symptoms among adults in Korea overall and also within each gender. Specifically, the highest level of depressive symptoms was found among the underweight, followed by the severely obese and then the obese. Slightly different patterns between male and female adults were found regarding the weight status associated with the fewest depressive symptoms.

Background: There are conflicting results about the association between body mass index (BMI) and depressive symptoms in older adults. The present study examined the relationship between weight and depressive symptoms over time in older adults in South Korea., Methods: We used data from three waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging and ran a series of cross-lagged panel models to test the reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and obesity in older Korean adults. We assumed a temporally stable relationship between depressive symptoms and obesity and, thus imposed equality constraints over time., Results: After controlling for the effect of depressive symptoms two years prior, underweight older adults had a higher depressive symptom score than those of normal weight. When controlling for obesity status from two years prior, older adults with higher levels of depressive symptoms were more likely to be underweight and less likely to be overweight than normal weight. The same patterns were observed in data from 2006 to 2008 and from 2008 to 2010., Conclusions: These results show that there is a correlation between depressive symptoms and weight status. In middle-aged and elderly Asian populations, depression can lead to weight loss rather than obesity, and underweight may develop depressive symptoms.

Objectives: Empirical studies of the relationship between depression and cardiovascular disease (CVD) tend to be limited to examination of one-way relationships. This study assessed both cross-sectional association and longitudinal reciprocal relationships between late-life depressive symptoms and CVD., Methods: The National Health and Aging Trends Study waves 1 (T1) and 2 (T2, one year later) provided the data. The study sample (N = 5,414) represented Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older. We fit structural equation models to examine: 1) cross-sectional association between depression and CVD at each wave; and 2) longitudinal reciprocal relationship between T1 depression and T2 CVD and between T1 CVD and T2 depression., Results: At T1, 28.6% reported a CVD diagnosis, and at T2, 4.9% reported having had a new diagnosis or new episode of heart attack or heart disease and 2.2% reported having had a stroke since T1. In addition to significant cross-sectional relationships between depression and CVD, T1 CVD had significant impact on T2 depressive symptoms, and T1 depressive symptoms had significant impact on T2 CVD, with a 1-point increase in depressive symptom score increasing the odds of having a new CVD diagnosis or episode by 21%., Conclusions: The care of older adults with CVD and/or depression needs to include interventions focusing on lifestyle and psychological factors that can reduce risks for both CVD and depression. Depression prevention and treatment also needs to be an integral part of CVD prevention and management., (Copyright © 2014 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to examine the bi-directional relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression using prospective data. Data from the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) were used to test whether IPV was associated with an increased overall level of depression and with the rate of change over time in depressive symptoms and whether this model of change in depressive symptoms was associated with subsequent incidences of IPV. This study utilized data from 3153 married women who participated in the KOWEPS from 2006 through 2009. The KOWEPS is a panel study of a nationally representative sample of Korean households. The women's responses to multiple questions adopted from the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) were used to create a dichotomous IPV variable at Wave1 and Wave4. The CESD-11 was used to measure the women's level of depression. We utilized a latent growth model (LGM) of depression using IPV at Wave1 as a predictor and IPV at Wave4 as an outcome predicted by the model parameters of the LGM of depression. We found that after controlling for the effects of age, education, social support and income, IPV at Wave1 was positively associated with overall depression levels and negatively associated with the growth rate of depression. Further, IPV at Wave4 was associated with the intercept and the slope of the depression LGM and with IPV at Wave1. The overall model fit the data well. This study indicated that experiencing IPV influences a woman's level of depression in terms of its overall level and rate of change, which, in turn, influences the victim's likelihood of experiencing subsequent IPV., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)