TY - JOUR
T1 - Stressful life events and depressive symptoms among the elderly
T2 - Evidence from a prospective community study
AU - Glass, Thomas A.
AU - Kasl, Stanislav V.
AU - Berkman, Lisa F.
PY - 1997/2
Y1 - 1997/2
N2 - We examined the effect of a series of common stressful life events on change in depressive symptoms among the elderly. The subjects were 1,962 noninstitutionalized people 65 years of age or older from the New Haven EPESE project. Multivariate regression models revealed that 8 of 11 stressful life events examined predicted change in depressive symptoms at follow-up (1985) after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms, age, socioeconomic factors, functional status, and chronic conditions. In addition, the total number of stressful life events was significantly associated with higher CES- D depression scores. A dose-response relationship between cumulative life event stress and change in depressive symptoms was also shown. These results suggest that certain common life event stressors may have an impact on mental health, both singly and in combination.
AB - We examined the effect of a series of common stressful life events on change in depressive symptoms among the elderly. The subjects were 1,962 noninstitutionalized people 65 years of age or older from the New Haven EPESE project. Multivariate regression models revealed that 8 of 11 stressful life events examined predicted change in depressive symptoms at follow-up (1985) after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms, age, socioeconomic factors, functional status, and chronic conditions. In addition, the total number of stressful life events was significantly associated with higher CES- D depression scores. A dose-response relationship between cumulative life event stress and change in depressive symptoms was also shown. These results suggest that certain common life event stressors may have an impact on mental health, both singly and in combination.
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U2 - 10.1177/089826439700900104
DO - 10.1177/089826439700900104
M3 - Article
C2 - 10182411
AN - SCOPUS:0031037571
SN - 0898-2643
VL - 9
SP - 70
EP - 89
JO - Journal of Aging and Health
JF - Journal of Aging and Health
IS - 1
ER -