Rabia Khalaila
Zefat Academic College, Israel
Title: Depression statuses and related predictors in later life: A 10-year follow-up study in Israel
Biography
Biography: Rabia Khalaila
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to investigate the factors associated with depression statuses in a ten-year follow-up of community-dwelling older adults in Israel. Longitudinal data were used from the Israeli sample of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe, assessing the depressive symptoms in 1,042 respondents, aged 50 or above, at three time points: 2004/2005 (Wave I); 2009/2010 (Wave II); and 2014/2015 (Wave III). Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the relationships among explanatory variables and depression statuses (no depression, intermittent depression, or persistent depression). Some 46.5% of the participants suffered from intermittent or persistent depression. Five factors were associated with increasing the probability of both intermittent and persistent depression: being female, unemployed, less educated, physically disabled, and in poor health. Five other explanatory variables were associated only with a higher risk for persistent depression: low family income, widowhood, physical inactivity, more than two chronic diseases, and cognitive dysfunction. According to these findings, depression is common among older people in Israel.