Aging and Depression: a Correlation Study

There is a perception as well as a consensus from the fields of mental health that aging is linked with an increase in individual’s risk of depression. The arguments hold that the depression as one age pertains to the aging process that is often associated with diminishing physical and cognitive health. Aging also comes with transitions from living with a marriage partner to being widowed, living alone, or living in a nursing home. Moreover, retirements and deductions in economic stability are also major factors contributing to depression even as one ages. It, therefore, makes sense that aging leads to an increase in depression as all the factors mentioned are positively associated with depression. Practical verification on the impact of maturity on mental wellbeing is varied; hence the connection between age and factors promoting hopelessness is driven by socio-demographic characteristics and physical as well as cognitive health in older people. The socio-demographic characteristics can be controlled, making age a non-issue in the explanation of mental health of older people. There are studies that state that depression increases as one grows older while a few studies state the opposite. Still, research shows that the relationship between age and depression is nonlinear and that it follows either U-shaped or inverse U-shaped. Other studies also reveal that there is no relationship between age and depression because of many reasons that include; viewing age in various ways and measuring depression with diverse instruments.

Among the many significant risk factors for depression in older adults, physical health problems are illustrated to be a major determinant of depression in human beings. Research indicates that physical health is an important aspect of mental health, more so at old age. It is at the old age that most people experience limitations in activities of daily living. Nevertheless, it is at old age that the association between the number of depressive symptoms and the socio-economical determinants of marital status and education are strongly explained to be part of the decrease in mental health. Physical health has a stronger impact to depression as one becomes old as compared to cognitive functions. Poor physical health would depress anybody despite their ages, while in old age; physical health of individuals drastically deteriorates; thus becoming an issue of great concern to the persons (Blaze 250).

A lot of research done to find out the relationship between aging and depression uses cross-sectional data as opposed to longitudinal data. Cross-sectional data is the type of data that allows for comparisons of people at different ages whereas longitudinal data is the information that captures the age itself on the same individual being studied over time. The difference in methods used by researchers is potentially contradictory as some findings suggest the possibility of cohort differences between age and the situation of hopelessness.

Research done by health officials has also not been able to clarify the differences between the aging process and the potential effect of age on depression. It is significant to understand the distinction between the gross effects of the aging process and the effect of age itself on depression. The distinction involves the association between age and diminishing health, leading the life of a widow or a widower, retirement, and other life changes that happens when one grows old. The general effe3ct of age itself on depression is useful for health practitioners in understanding how to address the issue of depression among the elderly. Data on research done to clarify the relationship between aging and depression suggests that an increase in depression that is associated with aging is in the real sense attributable to decrease in health.

On the contrary, some research shows that maturity protects people from depression when controls for health changes are brought in. Health changes may involve a system that is responsible for the physical health of adults in developing countries where the health care sector is not fully stable. In most developed nations, the aged are protected by a special insurance scheme that takes care of their health; hence protecting citizens from depression resulting from poor physical health at old age. Since the assertions from the research done by various organizations are derived from cross-sectional data, they are inconclusive. Consequently, there is the necessity to scrutinize the longitudinal data to understand the relationship between age and depression.

Research done on gender and health has consistently revealed that women are more likely to be depressed than men. There are biological, historical, and cultural explanations for the variation in depression among men and women at old age. Moreover, there are social components to the sex gap in depression. Such components include age, race, and levels of education, poverty, marital status, and employment status. The sex differences in the risk and protective social factors elaborately explain the sex gap in depression. Many theoretical and empirical inconsistencies concerning the relationship between gender, age, and depression exist similar to the theories behind the concept of aging; thus the topic is of much debate (Medalia 5).

One hypothesis formulated by researchers is that the sex gap in depression is due to both communal and natural implications of the productive years of individuals. For instance, research shows that the sex gap in depression emerges during young adulthood and goes away after women have undergone menopause. On the contrary, other assumption is that the sex age gap in depression tends to increase as people age. The theory is backed up by the information that older women are at a greater risk of being widowed or falling into poverty as opposed to older men. The two contrasting hypotheses are challenged by a theory that asserts that the sex gap depression ought to remain constant over life course since there is enough evidence that women, throughout their lives, are consistently at a greater risk for depression (Cole and Dendukuri 1147).

The inconsistency in the empirical research done leaves a lot of questions concerning the complex contradictory relationships. It becomes difficult to come to a general conclusion as to whether people become more or less depressed as they age. It is also challenging to explain the theory behind the change in depression with age as there are conflicting ideas about changes in marital status, employment, and health. Apparently, researchers have more tasks in finding out what happens to the sex gap in depression as people become of age. Moreover, it is clear that researchers have to find out the cohort differences in the age trend depression.

More statistics provide evidence for the idea that social and health changes are the major causes for the increase in depression with age. It is noted that age has a net impact on depression levels. It is again noted that the sex gap in depression tends to decrease as people age. For instance, statistics provide data that as men reach the age of 75, their depression levels increases more than those of women. The research faces criticisms since there is no support for the claim that age trend in depression is because of cohort differences. Age itself is an underlying explanation for the contradictory research on aging, gender, and depression as there is no clear measurement of age and depression over the middle to elderly years (Singh and Misra).

It is clear that empirical research on aging and depression is both inconclusive and contradictory. There are studies that reveal that as one approaches the age of 75, they are more likely to be depressed while other studies claim the opposite; depression decreases with age. The inconsistencies are due to several factors such as the nature of studies done by researchers. For instance, studies carried out to find out the relationship between depression and aging focus on small communities or even on clinical samples. Apparently, the studies are not necessarily a reflection of the entire population. Additionally, studies put focus on varied age ranges, whereby others look at wide range of ages from 19 to 91; thus having a little sample of elderly respondents. Other studies also put focus on the older adult population, for example, from 75 to 90. There is, therefore, a possibility that the conclusions derived from the findings differ depending on the comparison made on the youth, middle-aged adults, and the aging (Buber and Engelhardt 1).

The empirical inconsistencies are also as a result of the fact that age is operationalized differently, and in most cases, poorly as in most studies. Many studies treat age as a categorical variable or twofold variable, making it be evaluated differently. Again, the disparities in the measurement of the relationship between age and depression are due to the methods used to measure the depression itself. Often, depression is measured in two ways; as a summary score of depression severity or in a clinical way. Clinically, depression is measured while taking into consideration to the criteria specified by the diagnostics of mental disorders. Studies that use the older severity instrument are completely different from studies using the diagnostic measure of clinical depression.

From the studies, it is clear that it is mentioned on who needs help from professionals and the kind of help they need. Such studies tend to diagnose people with a specific disorder, claiming that depression is not due. The exclusive criteria used to measure depression are questionable as they produce underestimates of the prevalence of depression.

It is unclear whether aging operates through its association with other life changes or just by depression. There is a lot of evidence that notes an increase in depression to be associated with age to be associated with diminishing health. Other studies further reveal that there is a protective net effect of maturity on depression that is evident when an individual controls health changes. For instance, it is noted that an adjustment to all the functional and social statuses leads to a drop in depression throughout the lifetime. The decline in depression is a suggestion of the underlying benefit of maturity. Since the studies use cross-sectional data, they may not be able to separate the effects of aging and declining health on depression. Longitudinal data may be preferred because it enables an examination of health changes and aging on depression outcomes (Fiske, Gatz and Pedersen 320).

There are findings that repeatedly reveal the existence of several other factors that relate to depression at old age. Changes in marital status, employment status, and physical health are factors that tend to be a major cause of depression apart from age itself. The factors are very similar between models where variables are entered interchangeably. Marital status is said to be a major cause of depression for males more than females. Most statistical data also note that being divorced increases the depression levels for most individuals while the depression scores for males is higher than that of females. Same statistics reveals that widowhood leads to an increase in depression for men than in women. It is claimed that the depression levels increases particularly when couples get divorced or are widowed when they are elderly. According to the researchers, getting married is very protective of both males and females while being widowed is slightly more depressing than getting divorced.

It is also clear according to studies that employment status is a determinant of depression, depending on individual’s age. The studies reveal that in employment, there is no difference in depression for both males and females. Also, there is no difference in being employed full time or part time, or being retired. The protective effect of working is clear as being fully retired is noted to increase despair for both men and women. While being retired increases depression at equal amounts for both sexes, unemployment is a factor that increases depression at different levels. It is, therefore, clear that being fully retired, more so at old age, and unemployment effect increases depression levels for both males and females. Notably, most studies hypothesize that depression ought to increase as people become elderly as aging is associated with reduced physical health as well as cognitive health. Growing old is also associated with being widowed and unemployment; factors that all lead to depression among individuals. The factors are categorized as recent stressors in the life of any aging human being (Nemeroff 336).

Studies also have recurrent findings that a decrease in cognitive function may be associated with age and depression. In the real sense, being moved to a nursing home or into assisted living may also be related to both age and depression. Same studies reveal that age and depression are associated with proximity to death. The elderly are, therefore, more depressed because of their worry of experiencing death.

It is a normal phenomenon for human beings to experience certain feelings from time to time in their lives. Others experience the same feelings intensely for long periods of time and sometimes without any apparent reason. Depression can be evident in most people because of its impact on both physical and mental health. Research indicates that averagely, one among six people will experience depression at some point in their lives. The accurate rate of depression is not yet known among the elderly people though its impacts are clearly visible at a glance.

Depression is, therefore, recognizable in older people due to its adverse symptoms among older people. Symptoms such as sadness, sleep, and experiencing problems with appetite make it easier to identify the fact that depression increases as one becomes elderly. The elderly are normally out of control of such signs; thus in many cases, it has been proved that they are occasionally depressed. However, symptoms such as mood changes may be dismissed as a normal part of getting older while the symptoms of depression might also be confused with other symptoms of some health conditions. Older people suffering from diseases such as diabetes are also at a greater risk as the symptoms can be easily identified (Peyrot and Rubin 585).

Some symptoms of depression in younger people that may be an issue of concern such as sleep insomnia as well as social withdrawal may be assumed in older people to be part of the old age. Research indicates that the old are exposed to the risk of developing mental health conditions as a result of numerous risk factors such as severe diseases and loneliness. Nevertheless, there is lack of evidence for the perception that aging is a risk factor for depression in the later stages of life. In most cases, elderly people have poor relationships with friends and family due to depression. The severe depression they experience ruins their quality of life and is sometimes life threatening. Depression in older people is also recognizable due to problems with memory that are associated with changes in thinking levels of individuals. Older people find it awkward to talk about the issue of depression; thus its consequences are clearly visible, and they can be associated with the contradictory concept. Personality traits are linked with the health risks each individual is exposed to, more so in later stages of life (Kempen et al. 255).

Research indicates that old people are known to be depressed simply by observing their changes in behavior and character. Older people are extremely affected by depression as how they feel abruptly altered. They tend to lose interest in things they used to enjoy; they may lack the energy to be jovial as well as experiencing sleeping difficulties; thus utterly disorienting their quality of life. The symptoms of hopelessness among the aged can result in chronic diseases such as diabetes as revealed by a study on diabetes and depression (Knol et al. 843).

Even as aging is to be anticipated, it is achievable to prevent or treat depression among elderly people in the society. It is mythical for people to think that at a certain age, one is unable to learn new things and even try to make fresh lifestyle changes. Research reveals that human brain never stops adapting to new ideas such as those of overcoming depression. It would involve the elderly finding new ideas and things to enjoy, learning ways of adapting to change as well as staying physically and socially active.

It would be significant to carry out adult education and inform the elderly on how they could coup up with depressing situations such as loneliness. Personal help among the elderly could be useful as the elderly can overcome the depression menace through simple activities such as exercise, connecting with others and bringing their lives into balance. It would be advisable for the elderly to maintain balanced diets, take part in activities that they enjoy, and get enough sleep. Such measures are effective when applied to the old, similar to their application among the young people. Moreover, studies reveal that depression treatment for the young are just as effective as for elderly adults as it is for younger people. The treatment of depression for adults may be slightly tricky as the depression is often caused by some difficult life situations or challenges. Experts, therefore, have to ensure that they deal with the issues resulting in depression for the adult before deciding to treat the depression menace.

While the elderly can be treated for depression using the same methods that could be used in young people, antidepressant treatment for the elderly may be different due to a number of factors. Research indicates that older adults are more sensitive to the side effects of drugs, and they are vulnerable to interactions with other medicines they are using. Studies also reveal that some antidepressants can cause rapid bone loss and a higher risk for fractures and falls. The elderly should, therefore, be given special medication for the use of antidepressants in relieving their depression without harmful side effects.

Additionally, the use of alternative medication can be advised for the elderly who require specific treatment for their depression. Herbal remedies and natural supplements could be useful in treating depression, more so for the older adults than the antidepressants. Studies reveal that herbal remedies may occasionally carry side effects; hence it is advisable to check with the doctor before taking them. Medical doctors also recommend counseling and therapy for older adults and the elderly as it addresses the underlying causes of the menace rather than treating the symptoms. The elderly could be offered supportive counseling whereby religious and peer counseling is done to ease loneliness and the hopelessness of depression. Therapy is significant in allowing the elderly work through stressful life changes, heal from losses, and change negative thinking patterns. Most importantly, support groups for depression could be useful in connecting the ailing elderly with other people who happens to be going through the same challenges. Support groups provide the elderly with a safe place where they can share experiences, advice each other and even provide encouraging words to their colleagues (Blazer 250).

The society can participate in helping the elderly even as they cope up with their depressions. Young members of the community can provide emotional support to the elderly who also happen to be our relatives and friends. Emotional support could involve listening to the old loved ones with a lot of compassion and patience so as to bring a solution to their suffering.

Conclusion

Depression is a common issue of concern to the society that cannot be viewed as a weakness or a character flaw. Depression happens to everybody, but it is more prevalent in old age due to the many life challenges the elderly experience. Depression can be avoided by the elderly by ensuring their physical fitness and coping up with other challenges of aging. For the elderly who have the symptoms of depression, the condition is treatable, and with the right support, the depressed elderly people can once again feel better and live vibrant lives.