The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between depression and changes in social roles among 708 elderly people living in an agricultural area in Japan. Depression and past and present changes in roles were investigated using the Role checklist. Logistic regression analysis revealed the following results:“student role reduction (OR:6.25, 95%CI:2.43-7.42)”, “no hobbyist role (OR:5.54, 95%CI:3.02-10.18)”, “family member role reduction (OR:4.23, 95%CI:2.82-6.35)”, “hobbyist role sustentation (OR:2.77, 95%CI:1.40-5.49)”, “religious participant role reduction (OR:2.75, 95%CI:1.06-7.09)”, “worker role reduction (OR:2.32, 95%CI:1.43-3.75)”, “gender (OR:3.41, 95%CI:2.10-5.53)”, and “age group (OR:2.11, 95%CI:1.34-3.34)” had a strong relationship with depression. These findings suggest that depression among the elderly could be clarified through evaluation of such role changes.
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