Unhealthy lifestyles do not mediate the relationship between socioeconomic status and incident depressive symptoms: the Health ABC study.

Background: The relationship between low socioeconomic status (SES) and depressive symptoms is well described, also in older persons. Although studies have found associations between low SES and unhealthy lifestyle factors, and between unhealthy lifestyle factors and depressive symptoms, not much is known about unhealthy lifestyles as a potential explanation of socioeconomic differences in depressive symptoms in older persons.

Methods: To study the independent pathways between SES (education, income, perceived income, and financial assets), lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol use, body mass index, and physical activity), and incident depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression [CES-D 10] and reported use of antidepressant medication), we used 9 years of follow-up data (1997-2007) from 2,694 American black and white participants aged 70-79 years from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) study.

Socioeconomic factors from midlife predict mobility limitation and depressed mood three decades later; findings from the AGES-Reykjavik Study.

Background: Taking into account our rapidly ageing population, older people are of particular interest in studying health inequalities. Most studies of older persons only include measures of current socioeconomic status (SES) and do not take into account data from earlier stages of life. In addition, only classic SES measures are used, while alternative measures, such as car ownership and house ownership, might equally well predict health.

Material vs. psychosocial explanations of old-age educational differences in physical and mental functioning.

Background: Taking into account our rapidly ageing population, older people are of particular interest in studying health inequalities. The aim of the present study is to examine the relation between socio-economic status and health-related functioning in older people and to find out how material factors (e.g.