Depressive symptoms are associated with both immune suppression and leucocytosis among elderly with acute hospitalization

Autor: Tikva Yirmiyahu, Avner Shahar, Danit R. Shahar, Yori Gidron, Larissa German, Hanna Castel, Ilana Harman-Boehm
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Zdroj: Geriatrics and Gerontology International. 6:53-59
ISSN: 1447-0594
1444-1586
DOI: 10.1111/j.1447-0594.2006.00318.x
Popis: Background: The relation between immune parameters and depression has been inconsistent, with some studies reporting immunosuppression while others reporting excessive immune responses in depressed people. This topic has not been extensively studied in the elderly, nor have researchers attempted to examine it in a non-linear manner, given previously observed contrasting findings. Objective: To examine the non-linear relation between initial white blood cell count (WBC) and depressive symptoms among acutely hospitalized elderly people. Methods: The investigation was designed as a cross-sectional analysis within a longitudinal study. Two-hundred and four patients aged 65 and above (60.3% men), admitted to internal medicine at the Soroka University Medical Center, Israel, were recruited for this study. Depression was assessed using the total 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). WBC was obtained from medical records as well as demographic data, diagnoses and medications, and nutritional status was assessed also with self-report. To analyze a non-linear relation, we trichotomized WBC levels into low ( 10 000). Results: The prevalence of depression (GDS > 10) was 26.5%. GDS scores were significantly higher among patients with low and high WBC (P
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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