Abstract

Objectives

At-risk drinking of alcohol is increasing in the older population and both at-risk drinking and loneliness have been shown to be risk factors for depression. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the associations between at-risk drinking, loneliness, and self-reported diagnosed depression in the older population.

Methods

The study was based on 10,096 persons aged 70–84 years who answered a survey questionnaire sent to a random population sample in Mid-Sweden in 2017. The overall response rate was 77%. The associations between at-risk drinking, loneliness and depression were analysed using multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for age, educational level, country of birth, economic stress, social support, living alone, physical activity, smoking, BMI, and medication use.

Results

The prevalence of at-risk drinking during the last 12 months was 8% among men and 4% among women. In total, 8% of the men and 14% of the women suffered from loneliness at least weekly. Having a current diagnosed depression was more commonly reported among women (9%) than among men (5%). At-risk drinking was associated with a higher prevalence of diagnosed depression in both men (OR:1.76; 95% CI:1.03–3.01) and women (OR:1.83; 95% CI:1.06–3.18), compared to moderate drinking when adjusting for loneliness and potential confounders. Furthermore, persons who suffered from loneliness every week had a higher prevalence of diagnosed depression (OR:5.95; 95% CI:3.72–9.53 in men and OR:4.80; 95% CI:3.44–6.69 in women) than those who did not suffer from loneliness.

Conclusion

In this population-based study, both at-risk drinking and loneliness were independently associated with self-reported diagnosed depression among men and women aged 70–84 years. These findings are important for prevention of depression among older people.

中文翻译：

---

70-84 岁老年人的饮酒风险、孤独感和自我报告的诊断抑郁症

摘要

目标

老年人饮酒的风险正在增加，饮酒风险和孤独都已被证明是抑郁症的危险因素。因此，本研究的目的是调查老年人中高危饮酒、孤独和自我报告诊断为抑郁症之间的关联。

方法

该研究基于 10,096 名年龄在 70-84 岁之间的人，他们回答了 2017 年发送给瑞典中部随机人口样本的调查问卷。总体回复率为 77%。使用多变量逻辑回归分析了高危饮酒、孤独和抑郁之间的关联，并根据年龄、教育水平、出生国家、经济压力、社会支持、独居、体育活动、吸烟、BMI 和药物使用情况进行了调整。

结果

在过去 12 个月中，有风险饮酒的患病率在男性中为 8%，在女性中为 4%。总共有 8% 的男性和 14% 的女性至少每周都会感到孤独。目前被诊断患有抑郁症的女性 (9%) 比男性 (5%) 更常见。与适度饮酒相比，在男性（OR：1.76；95% CI：1.03–3.01）和女性（OR：1.83；95% CI：1.06–3.18）中，高危饮酒与确诊抑郁症的患病率较高相关调整孤独感和潜在的混杂因素。此外，每周都遭受孤独的人被诊断为抑郁症的患病率更高（OR：5.95；男性 95% CI：3.72–9.53，女性 OR：4.80；95% CI：3.44–6.69）遭受孤独。

结论

在这项基于人群的研究中，在 70-84 岁的男性和女性中，有饮酒风险和孤独感都与自我报告的确诊抑郁症独立相关。这些发现对于预防老年人抑郁症很重要。