LONGITUDINAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN NEIGHBORING BEHAVIOR AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN HISPANIC OLDER ADULTS IN MIAMI, FLORIDA

Age-friendly environments and depressive symptoms among Korean adults: The mediating effects of loneliness

OBJECTIVES

In this study, we examined (1) group differences with regard to age-friendly environments (AFE), loneliness, and depressive symptoms among younger, middle-aged, and older Korean adults; (2) the relationship of AFE to loneliness and depressive symptoms; and (3) the mediating effect of loneliness on the relationship between AFE and depressive symptoms among three Korean adult groups.

METHOD

We used a cross-sectional survey design featuring multistage quota sampling. Study participants were 1,017 Korean adults aged 18 years or older. Multi-group structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Statistically significant age group differences were found in the mean values of loneliness and depressive symptoms, but no significant age group differences in the mean values of AFE were observed. Older adults showed a significant relationship between AFE and loneliness, while their younger counterparts demonstrated a significant relationship between AFE and depressive symptoms. The mediating effect of loneliness on the association between AFE and depressive symptoms was found only for the older age group.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study contribute to the existing understanding of AFE and mental health among Korean adults, while providing service providers and policy makers with fundamental background information on alleviating depression.

Relationships between the neighborhood environment and depression in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACTBackground:While depression is a growing public health issue, the percentage of individuals with depression receiving treatment is low. Physical and social attributes of the neighborhood may influence the level of depressive symptoms and the prevalence of depression in older adults.

METHODS

This review systematically examined the literature on neighborhood environmental correlates of depression in older adults. Findings were analyzed according to three depression outcomes: depressive symptoms, possible depression, and clinical depression. Based on their description in the article, environmental variables were assigned to one of 25 categories. The strength of evidence was statistically quantified using a meta-analytical approach with articles weighted for sample size and study quality. Findings were summarized by the number of positive, negative, and statistically non-significant associations by each combination of environmental attribute - depression outcome and by combining all depression outcomes.

RESULTS

Seventy-three articles met the selection criteria. For all depression outcomes combined, 12 of the 25 environmental attribute categories were considered to be sufficiently studied. Three of these, neighborhood socio-economic status, collective efficacy, and personal/crime-related safety were negatively associated with all depression outcomes combined. Moderating effects on associations were sparsely investigated, with 52 articles not examining any. Attributes of the physical neighborhood environment have been understudied.

CONCLUSION

This review provides support for the potential influence of some neighborhood attributes on population levels of depression. However, further research is needed to adequately examine physical attributes associated with depression and moderators of both social and physical neighborhood environment attribute - depression outcome associations.

Neighborhood perception and self-rated health among Mexican American older adults

AIM

The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between neighborhood perception and poor self-rated health among older Mexican Americans, adjusting for important background characteristics, such as neighborhood ethnic composition and other health conditions.

METHODS

Drawing on the 2004-2005 Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly data (n = 1780), the present study used logistic regression to examine the effects of neighborhood perception on poor self-rated health of older Mexican Americans.

RESULTS

The results show that participants with a greater positive perception of their neighborhood were less likely to report poor self-rated health, controlling for both socioeconomic status and health status covariates.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that positive neighborhood perception serves as an important protective factor in overall health. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 2559-2564.

Do Local Social Hierarchies Matter for Mental Health? A Study of Neighborhood Social Status and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Despite a well-established association between relative social position and health, stratification at smaller levels of social organization has received scant attention. Neighborhood is a localized context that has increasing relevance for adults as they age, thus one's relative position within this type of mesolevel group may have an effect on mental health, independent of absolute level of social and economic resources. We examine the relationship between an older adult's relative rank within their neighborhoods on two criteria and depressive symptoms.

METHOD

Using data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, neighborhood relative social position was ascertained for two social domains: income and social reputation (number of neighbors one knows well enough to visit). Using multilevel models, we estimated the effect of relative position within the neighborhood on depressive symptoms, net of absolute level for each domain and average neighborhood level.

RESULTS

Higher neighborhood relative rankings on both income and visiting neighbors were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Although both were modest in effect, the gradient in depressive symptoms was three times steeper for the relative rank of visiting neighbors than for income. Men had steeper gradients than women in both domains, but no race differences were observed.

DISCUSSION

These findings suggest that an older adult's relative position in a local social hierarchy is associated with his/her mental health, net of absolute position.

Causal inference in cross-lagged panel analysis: a reciprocal causal relationship between cognitive function and depressive symptoms

Cross-lagged panel analysis (CLPA) is a method of examining one-way or reciprocal causal inference between longitudinally changing variables. It has been used in the social sciences for many years, but not much in nursing research. This article introduces the conceptual and statistical background of CLPA and provides an exemplar of CLPA that examines the reciprocal causal relationship between depression and cognitive function over time in older adults. The 2-year cross-lagged effects of depressive symptoms (T1) on cognitive function (T2) and cognitive function (T1) on depressive symptoms (T2) were significant, which demonstrated a reciprocal causal relationship between cognitive function and depressive mood over time. Although CLPA is a methodologically strong approach to examine the reciprocal causal inferences over time, it is necessary to consider potential sources of spuriousness to lead to false causal relationship and a reasonable time frame to detect the change of the variables.

Longitudinal associations between walking frequency and depressive symptoms in older adults: results from the VoisiNuAge study

BACKGROUND

Cross-sectional studies show that walking is associated with depression among older adults, but longitudinal associations have rarely been examined. The aim of this study was to investigate longitudinal associations between walking frequency and depressive symptoms in older adults to determine which variable is the stronger prospective predictor of the other.

DESIGN

Longitudinal; four repeated measures over 5 years.

SETTING

Population-based sample of urban-dwelling older adults living in the Montreal metropolitan area.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants from the VoisiNuAge study aged 68 to 84 (N=498).

MEASUREMENTS

MAIN EXPOSURES

depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale) and number of walking days in previous week (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly). Covariates: age, education, and number of chronic illnesses. Cross-lagged panel analyses were performed in the entire sample and in sex-stratified subsamples.

RESULTS

Depressive symptoms predicted walking frequency at subsequent time points (and more precisely, higher depressive symptoms were related to fewer walking days), but walking frequency did not predict depressive symptoms at subsequent time points. Stratified analyses revealed that prospective associations were statistically significant in women but not men.

CONCLUSION

The longitudinal association between walking frequency and depressive symptoms is one in which depressive symptoms predict reduced walking frequency later. Higher depressive symptoms are more likely a cause of reduced walking because of time precedence than vice versa. Future research on longitudinal relationships between meeting physical activity recommendations and depression are warranted.

The relationship of perceived neighborhood social climate to walking in Hispanic older adults: a longitudinal, cross-lagged panel analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study examines possible bidirectional relationships between neighborhood climate (i.e., perceived neighborhood social environment) and walking behavior across a 12-month period in older Hispanics.

METHOD

A population-based sample of 217 community-dwelling older Hispanics in Miami, Florida, completed measures of perceived neighborhood climate and neighborhood walking, at two assessment time points (12 months apart).

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that neighborhood climate predicted subsequent walking 12 months later, such that more positive perceptions of neighborhood climate predicted more walking. Follow-up analyses revealed that older adults who resided in the top half of neighborhoods based on perceived neighborhood climate scores at initial assessment were 2.57 times as likely to have walked at least one block in the last week at follow-up, relative to older adults residing in neighborhoods whose climate was in the lower half.

DISCUSSION

Perceptions of a more positive neighborhood social environment may promote walking in urban, older Hispanics.