Depressive disorders are among the most widespread mental disorders in old age, with negative consequences for quality of life (QOL). Understanding QOL as a multidimensional construct, in this article we have a closer look on what specific aspects are affected by depression. We used a representative sample of the German population (n = 805) and one of individuals diagnosed with depression (n = 106) to compare QOL using the WHOQOL-BREF and the WHOQOL-OLD. Multivariate analysis showed that individuals diagnosed with depression exhibited lower QOL with regard to WHOQOL-BREF-dimensions physical health, psychological, social relationships and global QOL and with regard to WHOQOL-OLD-facets sensory abilities, past, present, and future activities and social participation. In addition, in the regression analysis, there were no significant differences between individuals with and without depression with regard to environment (WHOQOL-BREF), autonomy, death and dying, intimacy and overall (WHOQOL-OLD). Associations between depression and QOL in older age are selective in terms of which aspects of QOL are affected. From a methodological perspective, a multidimensional approach to QOL is recommended. From a clinical perspective, our research highlights those areas of QOL that are relevant for health professionals working with older people and that could be the focus of interventions.

抑郁症是老年人中最普遍的精神障碍，会对生活质量（QOL）造成负面影响。将QOL理解为多维构造，在本文中，我们将深入研究哪些特定方面会受到抑郁的影响。我们使用了德国人口的代表性样本（n  = 805）和一个被诊断出患有抑郁症的个体（n = 106），以比较使用WHOQOL-BREF和WHOQOL-OLD的QOL。多元分析显示，被诊断为抑郁的个体在WHOQOL-BREF维度的身体健康，心理，社会关系和全球QOL以及WHOQOL-OLD-方面的感官能力，过去，现在和将来的活动和社交方面表现出较低的QOL。参与。此外，在回归分析中，有抑郁和无抑郁的个体之间在环境（WHOQOL-BREF），自主权，死亡和垂死，亲密感和整体（WHOQOL-OLD）方面没有显着差异。在影响QOL的哪些方面，老年抑郁症和QOL之间的关联是选择性的。从方法论的角度来看，建议采用多维方法来解决QOL。从临床角度来看，