Factors associated with depressive symptoms in non-demented community-dwelling elderly

Objective. We examined the risk for depressive symptoms associated with age , education, ethnicity, gender, marital status, apolipoprotein E genotype ( APOE) and memory complaints among non-demented elderly (greater than or equ al to 60 years). Design. Cross-sectional study of geriatric patients recruited from a free m emory screening offered to the community. Sample. This investigation included 506 community-residing elderly subjects who were screened for cognitive impairment and classified as non-demented based on age and education-adjusted Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSAdj ) scores of 24 or greater. Results. The prevalence of significant depressive symptoms (Hamilton Depres sion Rating Scale greater than or equal to 12) was 12.1% (N = 61). increase d risk for depression was associated with female gender (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.1-4.8; p < 0.05), Cuban American ethnicity (OR = 4.9; 95% CI = 2.3-10.4; p < 0.0001) and memory complaints (OR = 1.3; 95% CI = 1.2-1.4, p < 0.0001) . The APOE allele frequencies in the current sample were 0.07, 0.80 and 0.1 3 for the epsilon 2, epsilon 3 and epsilon 4 alleles, respectively. Conclusions. The results suggest that signs and symptoms of depression are common among non-demented elderly subjects in the community. In this study, mood disturbances were associated with Cuban American ethnicity, female ge nder and more memory complaints. Factors that were not confirmed by this st udy include age, education, marital status and APOE genotype. The observed APOE epsilon 4 allele frequency of 0.13 supports the normal cognitive class ification cf the sample. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.