[Depressive states and their correlates in elderly people living in a rural community]

In order to determine the prevalence of depressive symptomatology among the elderly in Japan, and examine relevant factor, a comprehensive survey was conducted. Subjects were 695 men and women aged 65 years and over in a rural village of Akita Prefecture. The Japanese version of the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used as the measure of depressive symptomatology. The main results were as follows: 1. The score distribution was skewed to the right, more so than those in preceding studies from the United States. The prevalence of depression according to a CES-D cut-point of 16 or greater was 5.3%. Neither age nor sex differences in prevalence were found. 2. Risk factors for circulatory disease such as blood pressure, ECG findings, chest X-P and blood components were not found to be related to CES-D score. Only the eye-ground change according to the Scheie's S classification was directly and significantly related to depression. 3. Those who had been treated for stroke over a year prior to the survey tended to have higher CES-D scores. Neither history of hypertension nor heart disease was associated with CES-D score. 4. Depression was more common among those who had experienced admission to hospitals over a year prior to the survey or who had suffered from hearing impairment or visual impairment. Low activities of daily living directly and significantly affected CES-D scores.