Changes in the risk of depression in older adults in Poland from 2010 to 2019: results of two nationwide surveys

Abstract

Background: This study examined sociodemographic differences in late-life depression over time using nationally representative data from the PolSenior (PS) and PolSenior2 (PS2) surveys—two cross-sectional multidisciplinary studies on the aging of the Polish population. Methods: The surveys were carried out in 2008-2010 (PS) and 2018-2019 (PS2), which included 4979 (PS) and 5987 (PS2) participants aged 65 years and older. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). GDS was analyzed according to level of education, income, activities of daily living, and cognitive function. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between depression and other individual characteristics. Results: The proportion of older adults with clinically relevant depression (GDS >5) was 30.7% in PS and 25.3% in PS2, with a higher prevalence among women than men (35.1% vs. 23.8% in PS; 28.6% vs. 20.5% in PS2). However, after adjusting for confounders, the risk of clinically relevant depression was higher in the PS2 survey compared with the PS survey (OR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.15–1.44). The greatest difference in GDS scores between the two surveys was observed in relation to economic status: individuals in poor economic conditions showed a higher prevalence of clinically relevant depression in PS2 (60.2%) than in PS (48.8%). Notably, both surveys demonstrated a clear trend of increasing GDS scores with advancing age. Conclusions: Higher prevalence of clinically relevant depression in certain groups and increased risk possibly reflect unfavorable socioeconomic changes that occurred for the elderly population in Poland in the analyzed period.