Religiosity and depressive symptoms among older adults in Colombia.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and religiosity among older adults in Colombia.Methods: Data are drawn from the SABE (Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento) Colombia Study, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2015 involving 19,004 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older living in urban and rural areas of Colombia. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depression scale (GDS; range 0-15), examined both as a continuous and categorical variable. Religiosity was assessed by self-rated religiosity and comfort derived from religion. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to assess the association adjusting for confounders.Results: Multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that being more religious (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.85-0.95, p < .001) or perceiving greater strength or comfort from religion (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.82-0.93, p < .001) was associated with a lower likelihood of scoring above the cutoff on the GDS for significant depressive symptoms (≥6). Similarly, linear regression analyses indicated that being more religious (unstandardized beta coefficient B = -0.16, p < .001) or perceiving greater strength or comfort from religion (B = -0.20, p < .001) was associated with a significantly lower score on the GDS assessed on a continuous scale.Conclusion: Being more religious or perceiving greater strength or comfort from religion is associated with fewer depressive symptoms among older adults in Colombia.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Reyes-Ortiz, CA; Payan, C; Altamar, G; Montes, JFG; Koenig, HG
Published Date
- November 2020
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 24 / 11
Start / End Page
- 1879 - 1885
PubMed ID
- 33076684
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1364-6915
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1080/13607863.2019.1660851
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- England