The Role of Social Isolation and the Development of Depression. A Comparison of the Widowed and Married Oldest Old in Germany

Franziska Förster, Melanie Luppa, Alexander Pabst, Kathrin Heser, Luca Kleineidam, Angela Fuchs, Michael Pentzek, Hanna Kaduszkiewicz, Carolin van der Leeden, André Hajek, Hans-Helmut König, Anke Oey, Birgitt Wiese, Edelgard Mösch, Dagmar Weeg, Siegfried Weyerer, Jochen Werle, Wolfgang Maier, Martin Scherer, Michael Wagner and Steffi G. Riedel-Heller
Additional contact information
Franziska Förster: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Melanie Luppa: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Alexander Pabst: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Kathrin Heser: Department for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Luca Kleineidam: Department for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Angela Fuchs: Medical Faculty, Institute of General Practice, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Michael Pentzek: Medical Faculty, Institute of General Practice, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Hanna Kaduszkiewicz: Medical Faculty, Institute of General Practice, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
Carolin van der Leeden: Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of Primary Medical Care, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
André Hajek: Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Hans-Helmut König: Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Anke Oey: Work Group Medical Statistics and IT-Infrastructure, Institute for General Practice, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Birgitt Wiese: Work Group Medical Statistics and IT-Infrastructure, Institute for General Practice, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Edelgard Mösch: Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
Dagmar Weeg: Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
Siegfried Weyerer: Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty, Mannheim/Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
Jochen Werle: Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty, Mannheim/Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
Wolfgang Maier: Department for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Martin Scherer: Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of Primary Medical Care, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Michael Wagner: Department for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Steffi G. Riedel-Heller: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: Widowhood is common in old age, can be accompanied by serious health consequences and is often linked to substantial changes in social network. Little is known about the impact of social isolation on the development of depressive symptoms over time taking widowhood into account. We provide results from the follow-up 5 to follow-up 9 from the longitudinal study AgeCoDe and its follow-up study AgeQualiDe. Depression was measured with GDS-15 and social isolation was assessed using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6). The group was aligned of married and widowed people in old age and education through entropy balancing. Linear mixed models were used to examine the frequency of occurrence of depressive symptoms for widowed and married elderly people depending on the risk of social isolation. Our study shows that widowhood alone does not lead to an increased occurrence of depressive symptoms. However, “widowed oldest old”, who are also at risk of social isolation, have significantly more depressive symptoms than those without risk. In the group of “married oldest old”, women have significantly more depressive symptoms than men, but isolated and non-isolated do not differ. Especially for people who have lost a spouse, the social network changes significantly and increases the risk for social isolation. This represents a risk factor for the occurrence of depressive symptoms.

Keywords: widowhood; depressive symptoms; social isolation; old age; sex differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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