CAUSE-SPECIFIC MORTALITY OF OLDER ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Objective: To determine which causes of death are most closely associated with depressive symptoms. Methods: 1751 community-living older adults were assessed in 1991 and followed five years later. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression (CES-D) scale. Death certificates were reviewed independently by two reviewers. Multinomial logistic regression models were adjusted for age and gender, and constructed with specific causes of death as the outcome compared to the reference category of being alive at time 2. Results: Death certificates were available for 253 (59%) of the 429 deceased participants. Those with depressive symptoms were more likely to die from cardiovascular diseases, stroke, respiratory diseases and non-specific syndromes, but not from infections or neoplasms. There were few deaths due to neurologic, renal, and gastrointestinal diseases. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms may be associated with death due to cardiovascular disease, stroke and respiratory disease.