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Is age a risk factor for depression among the oldest old with cancer?
- Source :
- Journal of geriatric oncology. 9(5)
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Introduction Age is negatively related to depression among young and middle age patients with cancer. Nevertheless the relationship between age and depression among older patients with cancer is unclear. The goal of the current study is to assess the association of depression with increasing age among older patients with cancer. Materials and methods Participants were 243 oncology out-patients, aged ≥65, either receiving treatment for active disease or within 6 months of completing treatment for active disease, with a Karnofsky score ≥70. Participants were grouped by age: “Younger-Old” – age 65–74 (N = 125); “Old” - age 75–84 (N = 49); and “Oldest-Old” –age ≥ 85 years (N = 69). Background data included: socio-demography; cancer type/staging/treatment; Charlson comorbidity index (CCI); Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance. Psychological data included: the 5-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS); “Distress Thermometer” (single item); and Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support (12-item). Results Depression levels were significantly higher among oldest-old participants in comparison to the old and younger-old groups: mean GDS scores were 0.93 ± 1.13, 1.27 ± 1.41 and 3.91 ± 1.35 respectively. After controlling for all potential confounders in a hierarchical logistic regression model, age-group significantly predicted both depression and distress. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis determined age 86 as the optimal cutoff for both clinical depression and distress. Discussion Depression among older patients with cancer rises with increasing age, being extremely common among the oldest old. Age independently predicted depression, irrespective of medical variables, social support, or functional status. Findings highlight the importance of addressing the potentially unmet psychological needs of this rapidly growing patient population.
- Subjects :
- Male
Logistic regression
03 medical and health sciences
Social support
0302 clinical medicine
Risk Factors
Neoplasms
Surveys and Questionnaires
Medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Risk factor
Depression (differential diagnoses)
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
business.industry
Depression
Age Factors
Cancer
medicine.disease
Middle age
Distress
Cross-Sectional Studies
Oncology
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Geriatric Depression Scale
Female
Geriatrics and Gerontology
business
Demography
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18794076
- Volume :
- 9
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of geriatric oncology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....65c9ff8e76907c31d13fffd497b03e22