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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.125104v1 AJPH.2007.125104v2 AJPH.2007.125104v3 99/7/1308    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Beard, J. R. Articles by Galea, S. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Beard, J. R. Articles by Galea, S. Related Collections Aging Mental Health African Americans/Blacks Asians Hispanics/Latinos Socioeconomic Factors Surveys Other Environment

John R. Beard, PhD, MBBS, Magda Cerdá, DrPH, Shannon Blaney, MPH, Jennifer Ahern, PhD, David Vlahov, PhD and Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH

John R. Beard, Shannon Blaney, David Vlahov, and Sandro Galea are with the Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, New York. John R. Beard is also with the School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. David Vlahov is also with the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York. Magda Cerdá and Sandro Galea are with the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Jennifer Ahern is with the Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to John R. Beard, Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10029-5202 (e-mail: jbeard{at}nyam.org).

Objectives. We investigated the relationship between the depressive symptoms of older adults over time and the characteristics of the neighborhoods in which they live.

Methods. We surveyed a random sample of 1325 New York City residents aged 50 years or older in 2005 and conducted 808 follow-up interviews in 2007. We assessed the compositional characteristics of the respondents' neighborhoods at a census-tract level and determined the relationships between these characteristics and changes in respondents' depressive symptoms.

Results. In multivariable models that adjusted for individual-level covariates including income, a range of neighborhood characteristics predicted worsening depressive symptoms. Factor analysis suggested that these characteristics operated in 3 clusters: neighborhood socioeconomic influences, residential stability, and racial/ethnic composition, with positive neighborhood socioeconomic influences being significantly protective against worsening symptoms. Life stressors, personality trait neuroticism, African American race, and daily baseline contact with social networks were also associated with worsening symptoms.

Conclusions. An older adult's neighborhood of residence is an important determinant of his or her mental health. Those making efforts to improve mental health among the elderly need to consider the role of residential context in improving or impairing mental health.

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				The Environment and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults Journal Watch Psychiatry, June 22, 2009; 2009(622): 4 - 4. [Full Text]