Age and Sex Differences in Depressive Symptoms

The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is a multinational panel data survey, collecting data on medical, economic and social characteristics. This cross-sectional study on depression includes men and women aged 50 to 90 from 20 European countries. Demographic, health, and life-style variables at the first interview were obtained from Waves 2004 to 2016. Depressive symptoms were assessed in SHARE using the EURO-D scale consisting of 12 depressive symptoms. After adjusting for risk factors the probability of depression decreased between 50 and 70 years in the Northern and Western regions. Depression was more common in women than men. Higher education was associated to lower probability of reporting several symptoms, while presence of chronic diseases or lack of vigorous activities increased the risk of depressive symptoms. Women were more likely to report  depressed mood, tearfulness, trouble with sleeping, and fatigue. 

Open access: Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9684; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189684

R code for data management and data analysis: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/KGTX6

CSTAT Collaborator: Marianne Huebner, College of Natural Science