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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Gender differences in depression
— a study of older unlike-sex twins | | Author(s) | S Takkinen, C Gold, N L Pedersen |
| Journal title | Aging & Mental Health, vol 8, no 3, May 2004 |
| Pages | pp 187-195 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Depression ; Older men ; Older women ; Twins ; Evaluation ; Longitudinal surveys ; Sweden. |
| Annotation | Gender differences in depressive symptoms, diagnosis of major/minor depression, and use of antidepressant medications were investigated. The sample included 249 pairs of unlike sex twins aged between 70 and 80 (from the Swedish Twin Registry) at the initial, base-line assessment. A follow-up in which 149 twin pairs participated, was carried out 4 years later. Participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) for depressive symptoms. Current use of antidepressant medication was assessed. Medical records of major/minor depression for 1985-1988, including a summary of diagnoses in earlier years, were gathered from several sources. Women had a higher frequency of depressive symptoms and depression diagnoses than their twin brothers. Depressive symptoms and diagnosis of depression increased over time, slightly more among men. The gender difference and increase over time in the depressive symptoms were related to differences in socio-economic status and physical functioning in men and women. No gender differences were found in the use of antidepressant medication. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-040618206 A |
| Classmark | ENR: BC: BD: SVR: 4C: 3J: 76P |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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