Association of depressive symptoms with healthcare utilization in older adults: Longitudinal evidence from the survey of health, aging and retirement in Europe
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Oct 16, 2020
Komulainen K, Gluschkoff K, Velázquez RG, et al. - Researchers examined whether differential associations exist between depressive symptoms and subsequent healthcare utilization with respect to contact with a medical doctor (MD), depression‐specific treatment, and inpatient psychiatric admission. Data from 53,139 participants from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe based on three follow‐up cycles performed between 2004 and 2013 were used in these longitudinal analyses. Sleep problems and fatigue were most often reported by people who had contact with an MD more often, followed by sad/depressed mood, tearfulness, concentration problems, guilt, irritability, and changes in appetite; this was noted following adjustment for gender, age, country of interview, follow‐up time, educational attainment, presence of a partner in household, body‐mass index, the number of chronic diseases, disability and average/prior frequency of contact with an MD. Patients treated for depression reported sad/depressed mood and suicidal ideation most frequently, along with sleep problems, changes in appetite, fatigue, concentration problems, hopelessness, and irritability. In addition, psychiatric inpatient admission was linked with appetite change, fatigue and sleep problems. Per these findings, utilization of different types of healthcare among the elderly are associated with specific symptoms of depression.
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