Table 1.
Characteristics of participants according to the number of occasions (2002–2003 to 2008–2009) with depressive symptoms (n = 9560)
| Number of waves with depressive symptoms |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | P | ||
| Number of participants | 5267 | 1842 | 1072 | 760 | 619 | ||
| Deaths, % (n) | 7.4 (390) | 10.8 (199) | 14.5 (156) | 16.2 (123) | 19.9 (123) | <0.001 | |
| Age, years: mean (s.d.) | 62.13 (8.77) | 63.08 (9.43) | 63.94 (9.69) | 64.37 (10.02) | 64.63 (10.12) | <0.001 | |
| Women, % (n) | 48.8 (2573) | 59.5 (1096) | 65.3 (700) | 66.6 (506) | 69.6 (431) | <0.001 | |
| Lowest occupational social class,a % (n) | 39.1 (2059) | 46.7 (860) | 52.8 (566) | 58.2 (442) | 65.4 (405) | <0.001 | |
| Lowest quintile in total wealth,b % (n) | 10.7 (563) | 19.0 (350) | 23.0 (247) | 30.7 (233) | 37.9 (235) | <0.001 | |
| Living alone, % (n) | 22.1 (1165) | 28.9 (533) | 38.2 (409) | 43.6 (331) | 53.2 (329) | <0.001 | |
| Current smoker, % (n) | 17.1 (769) | 22.2 (335) | 28.5 (238) | 30.4 (177) | 41.6 (182) | <0.001 | |
| Hardly ever engage in mild physical activity, % (n) | 6.6 (348) | 9.6 (176) | 11.8 (127) | 17.1 (130) | 22.1 (137) | <0.001 | |
| No alcohol consumption in past year, % (n) | 7.1 (376) | 11.0 (203) | 15.1 (162) | 17.5 (133) | 22.9 (142) | <0.001 | |
| Difficulty in any ADL, % (n) | 9.1 (481) | 18.4 (340) | 27.2 (292) | 36.5 (277) | 51.2 (317) | <0.001 | |
| Difficulty in any IADL, % (n) | 8.1 (427) | 17.8 (329) | 29.3 (315) | 39.6 (301) | 55.6 (344) | <0.001 | |
| Antidepressant use,c % (n) | 2.1 (112) | 4.9 (90) | 7.1 (76) | 9.5 (72) | 14.5 (90) | <0.001 | |
| Diagnoses and health conditions, % (n) | |||||||
| Hypertension | 33.4 (1764) | 38.0 (700) | 42.0 (451) | 43.1 (328) | 47.9 (297) | <0.001 | |
| Angina | 6.3 (332) | 9.6 (177) | 10.3 (111) | 13.9 (106) | 18.6 (115) | <0.001 | |
| Heart attack | 4.0 (209) | 5.4 (99) | 6.2 (66) | 7.4 (56) | 9.7 (60) | <0.001 | |
| Heart conditiond | 8.5 (450) | 9.7 (178) | 11.7 (125) | 13.1 (100) | 14.5 (90) | <0.001 | |
| Stroke | 2.0 (104) | 3.4 (63) | 4.7 (50) | 5.7 (43) | 8.4 (52) | <0.001 | |
| Diabetes | 4.7 (250) | 7.6 (140) | 8.4 (90) | 9.6 (73) | 11.6 (72) | <0.001 | |
| COPD | 3.4 (181) | 5.8 (107) | 8.1 (87) | 10.0 (76) | 14.8 (92) | <0.001 | |
| Asthma | 9.4 (498) | 11.4 (210) | 13.8 (148) | 17.4 (132) | 21.8 (135) | <0.001 | |
| Arthritis | 25.5 (1237) | 33.9 (624) | 42.2 (452) | 46.8 (356) | 56.2 (348) | <0.001 | |
| Cancer | 5.0 (261) | 5.4 (99) | 5.9 (63) | 6.8 (52) | 6.1 (38) | 0.08 | |
| Memory index, mean (s.d.) | 17.60 (4.60) | 16.64 (4.91) | 15.92 (4.76) | 15.28 (4.88) | 14.64 (5.06) | <0.001 | |
| Executive function score, mean (s.d.) | 18.41 (3.97) | 17.42 (4.13) | 16.82 (4.07) | 16.15 (4.07) | 15.37 (4.05) | <0.001 | |
ADL, activity of daily living; IADL, instrumental activity of daily living; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
a.
Semi-routine and routine occupational social class according to the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) classification system.
b.
Total wealth excluded debt and regular pension payments.
c.
Self-reported use of antidepressants in wave 0 comprised either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or tricyclic antidepressant.
d.
Heart conditions were murmur, abnormal heart rhythm and congestive heart failure.