@article {7982, title = {Does duration of spousal caregiving affect risk of depression onset? Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.}, journal = {Am J Geriatr Psychiatry}, volume = {22}, year = {2014}, note = {Times Cited: 0}, month = {2014 Aug}, pages = {766-70}, publisher = {22}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association of current and long-term spousal caregiving with risk of depression in a nationally (U.S.) representative sample of older adults.

METHODS: We studied married and depression-free Health and Retirement Study respondents aged 50 years and older (n~= 9,420) at baseline from 2000 to 2010. Current (>=14 hours per week of help with instrumental/activities of daily living for a spouse in the most recent biennial survey) and long-term caregiving (care at two consecutive surveys) were used to predict onset of elevated depressive symptoms (>=3 on a modified Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale) with discrete-time hazards models and time-updated exposure and covariate information.

RESULTS: Current caregiving was associated with significant elevations in risk of depression onset (hazard ratio: 1.64; Wald χ(2), 1 df: 28.34; p~<0.0001). Effect estimates for long-term caregiving were similar (hazard ratio: 1.52, Wald χ(2), 1 df: 3.63; p~= 0.06).

CONCLUSIONS: Current spousal caregiving significantly predicted onset of depression; the association was not exacerbated by longer duration of caregiving.

}, keywords = {Aged, Caregivers, depression, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Retirement, Risk Factors, Spouses, Time Factors, United States}, issn = {1545-7214}, doi = {10.1016/j.jagp.2013.01.073}, author = {Benjamin D Capistrant and Lisa F Berkman and M. Maria Glymour} }