| Abstract [eng] |
The trend of population aging raises concerns not only about the inevitable decline of physical health capabilities, but also psychological health challenges, the main one being depressiveness. Therefore, this work aims to identify physical health factors that predict changes in depressive symptoms of older people. The study uses data from SHARE waves 6 (2015), 8 (2019–2020), and 9 (2021–2022). Thus, the total duration of the study is 7 years. The analysis includes 11 879 respondents aged 65 to 95 (42 % men) who participated in all three waves. The EURO-D scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. The analysis also includes various indicators reflecting physical health status and other factors. The results of the study reveal that depressive symptoms in older people are usually low-stable, but low-increasing, high-stable and high-decreasing depressiveness also occur. Physical health factors significantly predict these changes in depressive symptoms of older adults even when sociodemographic factors are controlled. Poorer physical health indicators, such as functional limitations in daily activities, pain, and signs of frailty predict a higher or increasing risk of depressiveness, while moderate-intensity physical activity at least once a week predicts a lower or decreasing risk of depressiveness. Therefore, this paper draws attention to the importance of both physical health limitations and physical health capabilities for the psychological health of older people, which is extremely important in conducting further research and providing health care services to older people. |
