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Earlier stress exposure and subsequent major depression in aging women
- Authors:
- KASEN Stephanie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(1), January 2010, pp.91-99.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Asserting that despite evidence that stress exposure earlier in the life course may have long-term consequences for psychopathology most models of vulnerability for later life depression are limited to current stressors or retrospective reports of stress history, the authors of this study employed longitudinal data from a community sample of 565 women from New York counties assessed over three decades to examine whether major depressive disorder at average age 60 is associated with childhood adversity and both negative life events and chronic marital stress over adulthood. The results showed that greater childhood adversity, earlier high levels of negative life events and marital stress, and an increasing trajectory of marital stress over time all elevated the odds of major depressive disorder at average age 60, independent of all stressors and other salient risk factors. The authors conclude that the findings support the enduring effects of earlier stress burden on major depressive disorder in women into old age and have important clinical implications for identification and treatment of those at risk for depression.
Early-life risk factors for late-onset depression
- Authors:
- SNEED Joel R., KASEN Stephanie, COHEN Patricia
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(7), July 2007, pp.663-667.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
To assess differences between women with no history of depression (No MDD), early-onset depression (EOD), and late-onset depression (LOD) on psychosocial risk factors (marital conflict and lack of social support), neuroticism, and overall self-rated health. Diagnostic data from a community-based longitudinal study of women at mean ages 39, 42, 48, and 59 in the United States was used to create three groups of women (No MDD, EOD and LOD). These groups were then compared on psychosocial, personality, and overall health risk assessed approximately 10 years prior to diagnosis. There were no differences between the groups on marital conflict and social support. Those with EOD scored higher than those in the LOD and No MDD groups on neuroticism. Importantly, those with LOD reported poorer health than those with No MDD 10 years prior to diagnosis. These findings provide support for the notion that poor health and not psychosocial risk factors or neuroticism predispose otherwise healthy adults to developing depression for the first time in late-life.