The relationship between social integration and depression in non-demented primary care patients aged 75 years and older.

BACKGROUND: Social integration seems to be associated with depression in late life. But the measurement of social integration still lacks a strong consensus. To date in most studies the different domains of social integration have been examined separately.

AIMS: In order to improve comparability among studies, we used the social integration index (SII), which covers all domains of social integration, to examine the association of social integration and depression in non-demented primary care patients aged 75 years and older.

METHOD: Data were derived from the longitudinal German study on Aging, Cognition and Dementia in primary care patients. Included in the cross-sectional survey were 1028 non-demented subjects aged 75 years and older. The GDS-15 Geriatric Depression Scale was used to measure depression with a threshold of ≥6. Associations of the SII and further potential risk factors and depression were analysed using multivariate logistic regression models.

RESULTS: The SII was significantly associated with depression in the elderly. After full adjustment for all variables, odds of depression were significantly higher for lower levels of the SII, having a care level, impaired vision and mobility and subjective memory complaints.

CONCLUSION: Because the social integration index covers several aspects of social integration, the results seem to be more significant than considering only one of these domains alone. Further research is needed to prove the practicability of the social integration index and to supply the literature with consistent results regarding the association of social integration and depression. Elderly with depression could benefit from increased social networks and enhanced social integration, which points to the development of social programs and social policies that maximize the engagement of older adults in social activities and volunteer roles.