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@ARTICLE{Blotenberg:279441,
author = {Blotenberg, Iris and Jeran, Lina and Rodriguez, Francisca S
and Michalowsky, Bernhard and Platen, Moritz and Teipel,
Stefan and Hoffmann, Wolfgang and Thyrian, Jochen René},
title = {{T}he {R}ole of {S}ocial {S}upport for {D}epressive
{S}ymptoms in {D}ementia: {A} {F}our-{Y}ear {L}ongitudinal
{S}tudy.},
journal = {Innovation in Aging},
volume = {9},
number = {6},
issn = {2399-5300},
address = {Oxford},
publisher = {Oxford University Press},
reportid = {DZNE-2025-00772},
pages = {igaf047},
year = {2025},
abstract = {Depressive symptoms are common in people with dementia,
significantly reducing well-being and potentially
exacerbating dementia symptoms. The objective of the present
study was to investigate the role of support from the social
environment for depressive symptoms in people with dementia
over a 4-year period.We used data from a cohort of 334
community-dwelling people with dementia (M age = 80.2,
$59.3\%$ female) who were interviewed annually in their
homes by specially qualified nurses. We used multilevel
growth curve models with random intercepts and slopes to
model depressive symptoms over time. We modeled both the
role of between-person differences and the role of
within-person changes in social support for depressive
symptoms.At the beginning of the study, $13.8\%$ of people
with dementia reported mild to severe depressive symptoms.
People with more social support showed fewer depressive
symptoms overall over the 4-year period $(\%$ change per
point on a scale from 22 to 110: -1.2, $95\%$ CI: -1.8,
-0.4). In addition, a decline in a person's social support
was associated with more depressive symptoms $(\%$ change:
-0.9, $95\%$ CI: -1.7, -0.2). These effects were stable even
after controlling for sociodemographic (age, sex, education)
and clinical factors (cognitive and functional status,
comorbidities).The social environment plays an important
role in depressive symptoms in people with dementia-beyond
clinical factors like cognitive and functional abilities.
Improving support from the social environment could be a
lever for alleviating depressive symptoms. In the care of
people with dementia, not only medical needs but also
psychosocial needs should come to the forefront.},
keywords = {Alzheimer’s disease (Other) / Mental health (Other) /
Neurodegenerative diseases (Other) / Neuropsychiatric
symptoms (Other) / Social health (Other)},
cin = {AG Thyrian / AG Rodriguez / AG Hoffmann},
ddc = {610},
cid = {I:(DE-2719)1510800 / I:(DE-2719)1510900 /
I:(DE-2719)1510600},
pnm = {353 - Clinical and Health Care Research (POF4-353)},
pid = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-353},
typ = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
pubmed = {pmid:40600022},
pmc = {pmc:PMC12210947},
doi = {10.1093/geroni/igaf047},
url = {https://pub.dzne.de/record/279441},
}