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 By Tom PolansekBut when a risk factor is uncommon among peers – like
widowhood or poor health in youth – it can have an outsized effect
on depression risk, the study team reports in The American Journal
of Geriatric Psychiatry.
“A wide range of risk factors for depression is relevant across the
entire life span,” said lead author Roxanne Schaakxs of VU
University Medical Center in Amsterdam.
“However, some risk factors expected to be strongly related to
depression in certain ages, may actually affect other age groups to
a larger extent,” Schaakxs added by email.
Depression is a complex condition and many experts believe that in
addition to innate genetic and personality factors, risks like
stressful life events, health issues and money problems can
contribute to its development, the study team notes.
To see which depression risk factors affect people at various stages
of life, and how much of an effect each factor has, the study team
analyzed data on more than 2,000 adults participating in two
long-term studies of depression and anxiety. Subjects in one study
were aged 18 to 65 when they began participating, while participants
in the other study were aged 60 to 93 when it started.
At baseline, a total of 1,431 people had major depressive disorder
and 784 people had no symptoms or history of the condition.
The research team assessed 19 different risk factors for depression
in different age groups, comparing people who had never been
depressed with people who were currently depressed.
Most of the risk factors did increase people’s likelihood of being
depressed at any age, including low education, recent negative life
events, personality traits, reduced social functioning, an unhealthy
lifestyle and poor health.
However, five of the risk factors were more strongly related to
depression in certain age groups.
For people aged 18 to 39, health factors like overweight or obesity,
pain, childhood abuse and chronic disease were strongly associated
with depression. For those over 60, low income was a greater risk
for depression than in other age groups.
People with risk factors that were “unexpected” based on their age
also had a higher depression risk than those in other age groups
where the same risk factor was more common, researchers found.
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For example, chronic illness was more strongly linked to depression
in younger people than older people while low income carried higher
depression risk in older people though it was more common among
younger people.
When young people are struggling with circumstances like illness or
loneliness, it may come as a surprise and they may not have the
skills to cope, said Patricia Arean, a professor of psychiatry and
behavioral sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle.
She stressed the importance of screening young people with chronic
illnesses for depression. “Fortunately, prevention interventions for
depression are also good for health care: get good sleep, rest,
exercise regularly, reach out to friends and family,” said Arean,
who was not involved in the current study.
“When an unexpected life event happens, pay close attention to your
reaction to it,” Arean said by email. “If you find that you are
struggling with your mood, energy, interest in things, concentration
for more than two weeks, Do Not Ignore those symptoms. Go see your
doctor and get help.”
“General practitioners and therapists should not overlook risk
factors for depression by assuming the risk factor is less relevant
at a certain age,” Schaakxs advised.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2ovflMy The American Journal of Geriatric
Psychiatry, online April 7, 2017.
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