Citation

Murata C, Kondo K, Hirai H, Ichida Y, Ojima T. Health Place 2008; 14(3): 406-414.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.08.007

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of depression by area and socio-economic status (SES). Study participants were 32,891 Japanese elderly aged 65 and over who responded to a postal survey conducted in 15 municipalities in 2003. Depression was assessed using a short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). SES was measured using years of education and income adjusted for family size. After adjustment for age, illness, higher level of activities of daily living, sex, marital status, and self-rated health, depression was still significantly associated with lower SES and residential area. Further research should also examine the area effect on health.