ASSOCIATION OF AGE, SEX, COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION, AND DISABILITY WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN AN ELDERLY SAMPLE

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the association of age, sex, and cognitive deficit with depression in the elderly. However, there is agreement about a relationship between depressive symptoms and disability. The authors previously conducted a factor analysis of the symptoms of major depression in elderly subjects and found that the symptoms clustered into factors of mood disturbance and motivation disturbance. The aim of the present study was to replicate these findings in a larger population sample and relate some of the variables possibly associated with depression to these two factors. METHOD: A population sample of 1,304 persons aged 75 years or old..