HPSS 2008
 PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
Transitions in Depression Status among Elderly: How to Analyze?
Rafiqul I Chowdhury, Kuwait University  *M. Ataharul Islam, USM 

Keywords: Conditional Models, Depression Status, Markov Models,

The depression states change among elderly quite rapidly. This study uses the health and Retirement Survey data from the USA for the period 1992-2004 in order to examine the strategies to explain the factors affecting such transitions. The follow-up data provides information concerning change in the depression status among elderly persons over time. We have examined regressive transition models on the basis of conditional probabilities and investigated the relationship between transitions and risk factors as well as influence of previous status at prior times. We have used two models to identify the risk factors and the results are compared in the context of repeated measures. Results indicate that age, gender, bmi and education are associated significantly with depression among elderly. The prevalence of other chronic diseases are also found to have association with the depression.