Lifestyle- and diet-related factors in late-life depression - a 5-year follow-up of elderly European men: the FINE study
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Early View, 2 November 2007

Late-life depression is one of the main health problems among elderly populations and a key element of healthy ageing. Causal relationships of lifestyle- and diet-related factors in late-life depression are unclear. This study investigates prospective associations of lifestyle- and diet-related factors with development of categorically defined late-life depression in a well-documented population of elderly European men. Eleven percent (n = 59) of the men developed depression during follow-up. An independent association with development of depression was found for baseline depressive status , a decline in serum total cholesterol level between study years , physical activity and moderate alcohol intake but not for dietary factors. This study of a well-documented population of elderly European men confirms that physical activity and moderate alcohol consumption may protect against depression in the old-old. Our results are the first to suggest that a decline in serum cholesterol level may predict development of late-life depression. As the effects of age, medication and incipient cognitive decline could not be entirely ruled out; this finding must be interpreted with care. Read Full Abstract Request Reprint E-Mail: Sinikka.Bots@ktl.fi __________________________________________________________________