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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The relationship between moderate alcohol consumption, depressive symptomatology, and C-reactive protein
— the Health and Retirement Study | | Author(s) | Daniel Paulson, Mona Shah, Danielle Herring |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 33, no 2, February 2018 |
| Publisher | Wiley, February 2018 |
| Pages | pp 316-324 |
| Source | http://www.orangejournal.org |
| Keywords | Alcoholic beverages ; 65-69 age group ; Mental health [elderly] ; Depression ; Longitudinal surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Moderate alcohol use has been broadly associated with health benefits among older adults, including improved mood. Aims of this study were to evaluate the relationship of moderate alcohol use and depression over a period of eight years, and to examine inflammation, indicated by C-reactive protein (CRP), as one mechanism by which this relationship functions. The study included 3,177 community-dwelling participants over the age of 65 in 2008 drawn from the Health and Retirement Study. Data from the 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014 waves were used. Alcohol use was measured via self-report and was dichotomised as abstinent (0 drinks per week) and moderate (1-14 drinks per week). Inflammation was measured using CRP, which was collected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and provided in units of ug/mL. Control variables included gender, age, body mass index (BMI) and medical burden. A latent growth curve model with full information maximum likelihood was used, with results revealing that moderate drinkers endorsed fewer depressive symptoms at baseline and a steeper rate of change over time. Abstinent respondents' depression was characterised by a more linear change rate. Further, moderate drinkers had lower CRP levels suggesting that inflammation partially mediates the relationship between moderate alcohol use and depression. Moderate alcohol use predicts fewer depressive symptoms among older adults. This relationship is partially moderated by CRP and is eroded by the passage of time. Future research should identify additional mechanisms relating alcohol to positive health outcomes and less depression. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-180302224 A |
| Classmark | YPP: BBE: D: ENR: 3J: 7T |
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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