Depressive symptoms in older male Italian immigrants in Australia: the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project

Abstract

Objective: To describe the prevalence of depressive symptoms in older male Italian-born Australian immigrants.

Design, participants and setting: Cross-sectional study of 335 Italian-born and 849 Australian-born men aged 70 years and over who completed written questionnaires and were interviewed in the baseline phase of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP).

Main outcome measures: Depressive symptoms assessed by the short (15-item) form of the Geriatric Depression Scale; associations between depressive symptoms and country of birth.

Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms in Italian-born men was 18%, almost twice the prevalence of 10% in Australian-born men (odds ratio [OR], 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2-3.0). After adjusting for socioeconomic and health factors, the relationship between country of birth and depressive symptoms was attenuated and no longer statistically significant (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 0.9-3.0). The strongest confounders of the relationship between country of birth and depressive symptoms were source of income and satisfaction with social support.

Conclusion: Male Italian-born immigrants aged over 70 years report more depressive symptoms than their Australian-born counterparts. This association appears to be explained by increased reliance on a government pension as the sole source of income and lower satisfaction with social support among Italian-born men. However, these findings need to be confirmed longitudinally.