Objective: The authors' goal was to examine whether depression is associate
d with overreporting of functional disability.
Method: The subjects were 304 patients 60 years old or older who were recru
ited from primary care settings. Measures included examiner ratings of depr
ession diagnosis and medical burden and self-reported and examiner-rated fu
nctional assessments. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine
the independent association of depression with self-reported function afte
r examiner-rated function was added to the analysis as a covariate.
Results: Depression diagnosis was associated with poorer self-reported role
functioning, whether the patient attributed the disability to physical or
emotional causes. Depression was not independently associated with poorer s
elf-reported physical functioning.
Conclusions: Clinicians and researchers should recognize that depression ca
n confound the self-reporting and attribution of functional disability.