Chronic Health Problems and Depressive Symptoms among Older Women in the U.S

Using data from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this study looked at the role of chronic health problems in perpetuating depressive symptoms and investigated socio-economic factors associated with the levels of depressive symptoms for older women aged 65 and above. As expected, chronic health problems were significantly related to the levels of depressive symptoms among older women. This study concludes that more chronic diseases and poorer perceived physical health affected higher levels of depressive symptoms for elderly women. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that having lower levels of wealth, being non-married, and having less education were significant predictors of higher levels of depressive symptoms among older women. Keywords: chronic diseases, depression, population aging, women. Adapted from the source document.