Factors associated with depressive symptoms in low-income, older Korean women with hypertension

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that are associated with depressive symptoms in community-dwelling, low-income, older Korean women with hypertension. A total of 107 low-income, older (aged 74 +/- 6 years) Korean women with hypertension participated in the study. Information about depressive symptoms, functional status, and social support were collected by interviews that used the Geriatric Depression Scale, Katz's Activities of Daily Living, and the Lubben Social Support Network Scale, respectively. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors that affected depressive symptoms. The results indicated that the depressed women had been diagnosed with hypertension for a longer period of time and took a larger number of medications than the women in the non-depressive group. They also had poorer functional status and an "isolated" social support network. The social support network, length of time since diagnosis, number of medications, and functional status were associated independently with depressive symptoms. It was concluded that clinicians should assess for the factors that are associated with depressive symptoms, including a poor social support network, poor daily activity, the number of medications, and the length of time since diagnosis in order to prevent the symptoms of comorbidities worsening in low-income, hypertensive, older women.