Family relationships as a risk factor for late life depression

To explore the association between depression in older adults and marital status, marital quality and relationships with close family members.

This study is cross-sectional, carried out at the Department of Geriatric Psychiatry of Skopje Psychiatric Hospital. We studied 120 subjects, 60 patients with unipolar depression and 60 subjects without depression. There is no significant difference in the sex proportion and the average age between the two groups. Data were taken by questionnaire designed for the study. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to measure depressive symptoms.

The patients with late life depression reported significantly more dissatisfaction with marital relationships in their life (p=0.048). The difference between the two groups in regard to living arrangements was statistically significant, because more patients lived in a geriatric institution (p<0.01). The quality of family relations was confirmed with a significant difference (p<0.001). Harmoniousness and toleration are considerably present in the families of the control group, while lack of interest, dislike and permanent conflictual relationships considerably predominate in the families of the experimental group. High significance was confirmed with regard to the feeling of emotional neglect and a feeling of being an unloved member of the family in the patients with depression.

Dissatisfaction with marital relationships was associated with a considerable risk of late life depression. The patients with late life depression reported significantly more conflictual family relations, a feeling of poor attention and neglect and the sense of not being a loved member of the family.