SOCIAL SUPPORT DEFICITS, LONELINESS AND LIFE EVENTS AS RISK-FACTORS FOR DEPRESSION IN OLD-AGE - THE GOSPEL OAK OBJECT .6.

Background. A companion paper reported a very strong cross-sectional a ssociation between handicap and late-life depression. Adjusting for ha ndicap weakened associations between sociodemographic variables and de pression. It was unclear whether handicap was a confounder, or a usefu l summary variable, mediating the effect of a range of sociodemographi c disadvantages. This paper focusses on the cross-sectional relationsh ip between depression and demographic variables, social support, and l ife events. Method. A community survey of all residents over the age o f 65 years of an electoral district in London, UK. Results. There was a moderate association between SHORT-CARE pervasive depression and the number of life events experienced over the previous year. Personal il lness, bereavement and theft were the most salient events. There was a stronger, graded, relationship between the number of social support d eficits (SSDs) and depression. Number of SSDs also related to age, han dicap, loneliness and use of homecare services. Loneliness was itself strongly associated with depression; odds ratio 12.4 (7.6-20.0). Concl usions. Problems of collinearity, and the cross-sectional design of th e study limited interpretation of the exact nature of the relationship between social support, loneliness, handicap and depression. However, the clustering of these four factors can be used to define a large pa rt of the elderly population with a poor quality of life. An important avenue for future research will be the development and implementation of population intervention strategies designed to address some or all of these problems among older people in general.