Does self-rated health predict death in older adults with depressive symptoms?

We analysed a prospective cohort study to determine (1) if self-rated health (SRH) predicts mortality in older adults with and without depressive symptoms, and (2) to determine if there is an interaction between SRH and depressive symptoms on mortality. We followed 1,751 community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older over five years. Measurements included age, gender, education, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D), SRH, the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS), and the Older Americans Resource Survey (OARS). Our outcome measure was time to death. Analyses were conducted in those with, and those without, depressive symptoms. We constructed Cox regression models with an interaction term for the CES-D and SRH. The hazard ratio (HR) for mortality was 1.63 for those with depressive symptoms; it was 1.68 for those without. No significant interaction was found between depressive symptoms and SRH for mortality.