Frequency of contact with non-cohabitating adult children and risk of depression in elderly: A community-based three-year longitudinal study in Korea

Highlight•Depression in elderly was associated with frequency of contact with children.•Efficacy of face-to-face contact and that of phone contact were similar.•The elderly lacking both types of contact showed the highest risk of depression.

PurposeOur study aimed to assess the longitudinal association of frequency of contact with non-cohabitating adult children and risk of depression in the elderly.MethodsElderly aged ≥60 years were included from Living Profiles of Older People Survey (LPOPS) in Korea. The baseline assessment, Wave 1, was conducted in 2008, and follow-up assessment, Wave 2, was conducted in 2011. We included participants who completed both waves and excluded those who met the following criteria: no adult children, living with adult children, cognitive impairment at either waves, and depression at baseline (n = 4398). We defined infrequent contact as <1 time per month face-to-face contact or <1 time per week phone contact and classified participants into four groups based on contact method and frequency. Depression was measured using the 15-item geriatric depression scales (SGDS-K).ResultsIn multivariable logistic regression analysis, infrequent face-to-face and phone contact group had adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.86 (95% CI, 1.44–2.42) when compared with frequent face-to-face and phone contact group. Frequent face-to-face contact with infrequent phone contact group and infrequent face-to-face contact with frequent phone contact group had adjusted OR of 1.49 (95% CI, 1.12–1.98) and 1.44 (95% CI, 1.15–1.80), respectively, when compared with frequent face-to-face and phone contact group.ConclusionThese results propose that the risk of subsequent depression in elderly is associated with frequency of contact with non-cohabitating adult children. Moreover, the efficacy of face-to-face contact and that of phone contact were similar, while the group lacking both types of contact demonstrated the highest risk of depression.