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. 2016 Apr;208(4):337-42.
doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.155333. Epub 2016 Jan 21.

Duration of depressive symptoms and mortality risk: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

James White  1 , Paola Zaninotto  2 , Kate Walters  2 , Mika Kivimäki  2 , Panayotes Demakakos  2 , Jane Biddulph  2 , Meena Kumari  2 , Cesar De Oliveira  2 , John Gallacher  2 , G David Batty  2
Affiliations

Duration of depressive symptoms and mortality risk: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

James White et al. Br J Psychiatry. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Background: The relationship between the duration of depressive symptoms and mortality remains poorly understood.

Aims: To examine whether the duration of depressive symptoms is associated with mortality risk.

Method: Data (n= 9560) came from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). We assessed depressive symptom duration as the sum of examinations with an eight-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score of ⩾3; we ascertained mortality from linking our data to a national register.

Results: Relative to those participants who never reported symptoms, the age- and gender-adjusted hazard ratios for elevated depressive symptoms over 1, 2, 3 and 4 examinations were 1.41 (95% CI 1.15-1.74), 1.80 (95% CI 1.44-2.26), 1.97 (95% CI 1.57-2.47) and 2.48 (95% CI 1.90-3.23), respectively (Pfor trend <0.001). This graded association can be explained largely by differences in physical activity, cognitive function, functional impairments and physical illness.

Conclusions: In this cohort of older adults, the duration of depressive symptoms was associated with mortality in a dose-response manner.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for all-cause mortality according to the sum of depressive symptom (CES-D) scores across the four waves (n = 9560). Basic model (light grey bars) with health behaviours (smoking status, alcohol consumption (in the past year) and physical activity (dark grey bars); all covariates (white bars). The reference group are participants with a score of zero (category 0). CES-D, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.
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Comment in

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