Open AccessDyadic effects of depressive symptoms on medical morbidity in middle-aged and older couples.
Author(s) -
Courtney A. Polenick,
Bren. Renn,
Kira S. Birditt
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
health psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.548
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1930-7810
pISSN - 0278-6133
DOI - 10.1037/hea0000573
Subject(s) - depressive symptoms , psycinfo , marital status , health and retirement study , medicine , depression (economics) , quality of life (healthcare) , psychology , body mass index , longitudinal study , demography , clinical psychology , gerontology , psychiatry , population , medline , cognition , nursing , environmental health , pathology , sociology , political science , law , economics , macroeconomics
Depressive symptoms in middle and later life are associated with an increased risk of greater medical morbidity (i.e., number of chronic health conditions). Yet little is known about mutual influences that may occur within married couples. This study examined the effects of wives' and husbands' depressive symptoms on their own and their partner's number of chronic health conditions over an 8-year period. It was also determined whether these effects varied by gender.