Social Engagement and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life

The purpose is to investigate whether social engagement protects against depressive symptoms in older adults.Three waves of data from a representative cohort study of community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and above from the New Haven Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly are examined using random effects models.Social engagement (an index combining social and productive activity) is associated with lower CES-D scores after adjustment for age, sex, time, education, marital status, health and functional status, and fitness activities. This association is generally constant with time, suggesting a cross-sectional association. In addition, social engagement is associated with change in depressive symptoms, but only among those with CES-D scores below 16 at baseline.Social engagement is independently associated with depressive symptoms cross-sectionally. A longitudinal association is seen only among those not depressed at baseline.