Association between depressive symptoms and disability in older adults of 12 high Andean communities from Peru

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the association between depressive symptoms and disability in older adults residing in 12 high Andean communities in Peru. Material and Methods: We carried out a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional study that included older adults (60 years or older) from 12 high Andean communities in Peru from 2013 to 2019. Depressive symptoms were defined as a score of two or more in the abbreviated Geriatric Depression Scale, while disability was defined as a score of less than 95 in the Barthel index. We also included sociodemographic characteristics, medical and personal history, and functional and performance-based tests. We used crude and adjusted Poisson regression models to evaluate the association of interest and estimated prevalence ratios (PR) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: We included 442 older adults with a mean age of 73 ± 6.9 in the analysis; 63.1% (n = 279) were women, and 79.9% (n = 353) had no education or incomplete primary school. 50.9% (n = 225) of the participants had depressive symptoms, and 49.8% (n = 220) had disability. The adjusted Poisson regression model showed that depressive symptoms increased the probability of disability (adjusted PR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.34–2.08; p < 0.001) in older adults living at high altitude. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms was associated with a greater probability of disability in older adults living at high altitude. Longitudinal studies are needed for better understanding of this association in high altitude populations along with timely interventions to reduce the impact of both geriatric syndromes.