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Levels of depressive symptoms may modify the relationship between the WHOQOL-BREF and its determining factors in community-dwelling older adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2015

Yu-Chen Chang ,
Wen-Chen Ouyang ,
Mei-Chun Lu ,
Jung-Der Wang  and
Susan C. Hu
Yu-Chen Chang
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan Division of Geriatrics, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan
Wen-Chen Ouyang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Changhua Christian Hospital & Changhua Christian Healthcare System, Changhua, Taiwan Section of Psychiatry, Lutung Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Mei-Chun Lu
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan
Jung-Der Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan Departments of Internal Medicine and Occupational and Environmental Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Susan C. Hu*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Susan C. Hu, Ph.D. Dept. of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd, Tainan 70101, Taiwan. Phone: +886-972-967800; Fax: +886-6-2359033. Email: shuhu@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
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Abstract

Background:

Depression is closely associated with quality of life (QOL) in older adults. Being elderly and exhibiting mild depressive symptoms may not lead to a depression diagnosis, but these attributes are clinically important. However, the extent to which these factors influence QOL and its determinants in older adults remains unclear.

Methods:

Questionnaires were administered to people aged 65 years or older at community senior centers in Taiwan to collect socio-demographic information and to assess results from the brief version of the World Health Organization's Quality of Life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF), Modified Barthel Index (MBI), 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Levels of depressive symptoms were classified as no depressive symptoms (NDS), lower level of depressive symptoms (LLDS), and higher level of depressive symptoms (HLDS), corresponding to GDS = 0, 1≦GDS≦5, and GDS>5, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to assess associations between the WHOQOL-BREF and its covariates for different levels of depressive symptoms.

Results:

A total of 454 older adults participated. The GDS and MBI scores significantly affected the WHOQOL-BREF physical and psychological domain scores in the LLDS group. Gender influenced the WHOQOL-BREF scores in the NDS group, and increased age demonstrated protective effects on the three domains in the HLDS group. Moreover, the association between the WHOQOL-BREF and its covariates varied for different levels of depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

Treatment for depressive symptoms is of high priority, and early recognition of and appropriate intervention for mild depressive symptoms may improve community-dwelling older adults’ QOLs.

Keywords

depressive symptomslower level of depressive symptomsquality of lifeolder adultsgender difference
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , April 2016 , pp. 591 - 601
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2015 

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