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Twin Study of Depressive Symptoms Among Older African-American Women

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago.
² Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine, University of Louisville, Kentucky.
³ Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle.

This study examines factors associated with depressive symptoms in a genetically informative sample of African-American female twins aged 65 years and older. A telephone interview was conducted with 180 pairs of twins. Questions included demographics, health behaviors, health status, activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental ADLs, and depressive symptoms as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression scale. Regression methods for clustered data were used to examine the associations. In univariate analyses, ADLs (odds ratio or OR = 1.4, 95% confidence interval or CI = 1.1–1.7), fractures (OR = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.3–15.6), and vision problems (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.0–3.8) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. In multivariable analyses, ADLs (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.2–1.7) and vision problems (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2–3.5) remained significantly associated with depressive symptoms. A within-pair analysis, controlling for genetic or familial influences, produced similar results. The results suggest that efforts targeted at reducing levels of disability may reduce depressive symptoms in this population.