Specific types of depressive symptoms trajectories and risk of chronic lung diseases events in middle-aged and older adults: Result from two prospective cohort studies.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prospective relationship of different depressive symptoms trajectories types with new-onset chronic lung diseases (CLDs) based on the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA).

METHODS: Total, affective-cognitive, and somatic depressive symptoms trajectories were constructed using the 8-item CESD scale in three surveys from the baseline. CLDs were identified based on self-reported physician diagnosis. The Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate the risk ratios and 95 % confidence intervals for both variables.

RESULTS: The study encompassed 18,995 individuals aged 50 years and older at baseline. Over an eight-year follow-up duration, 2302 participants developed CLDs. In the total depressive symptoms trajectory, participants with fluctuating (OR (95 % CI): 1.55 (1.25, 1.92), P < 0.001), increasing (OR (95 % CI): 1.49 (1.21, 1.84), P < 0.001), and persistently high (OR (95 % CI): 1.82 (1.44, 2.31), P < 0.001) groups showed an elevated risk of developing CLDs compared to those with persistently low groups. Similar results were observed for somatic depressive symptoms. However, affective-cognitive symptoms did not appear to be related to new-onset CLDs.

CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms trajectories were significantly correlated with incident CLDs, especially somatic depressive symptoms. Increased attention to the development of depressive symptoms may be one of the measures to prevent new-onset CLDs in middle-aged and older adults.