Racial-Ethnic Differences in the Associations Between Functional Disabilities and Subsequent Depression Among Community-Dwelling Midlife and Older Adults in the US

Authors

Debasree Das Gupta, Utah State UniversityFollow
Uma Kelekar, Marymount University
Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya, Utah State UniversityFollow
Sidney Carl Turner, Fors Marsh Group

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Disability and Health Journal

Volume

18

Issue

1

Publisher

Elsevier Inc.

Publication Date

1-1-2025

Journal Article Version

Accepted Manuscript

First Page

1

Last Page

40

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Abstract

Background: The intersection of race/ethnicity with disability is a critical dimension of mental health outcomes in later ages that remains under-investigated.

Objective: We examined the role of race-ethnicity in moderating the associations between functional disabilities and subsequent depression among Americans 51 and older and stratified into the two age-groups of midlife (51-64) and older adults (≥65).

Methods: Using a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling Americans (≥51; n=7,475) in the 2016-2018 Health and Retirement Study, we conducted bivariate and multivariable regression analyses. Racial-ethnic groups included non-Hispanic (NH) Black, Hispanic, and NH White and a binary (0/1) outcome defined subsequent depression in 2018. The total number of difficulties on the Nagi, Lawton, and Katz disability scales represented baseline (2016) functional disabilities with a secondary four-level (no/mild/severe with assistance/severe without assistance) disability indicator incorporated to examine the role of assistance with daily living.

Results: Across age-groups, subsequent depression was significantly more prevalent among NH Whites with functional disabilities compared to counterparts reporting no disabilities. Compared to NH Black and Hispanic counterparts, midlife NH Whites were three times more likely to report subsequent depression with each unit increase in the functional disability score, after adjusting for covariates. However, we observed no such racial-ethnic differences among older adults. Among the 51+ severe with no assistance group, adjusted odds of subsequent depression among NH Whites was 2.5 times higher than minority counterparts.

Conclusion: Health programs and environmental adaptations supporting functional care needs in later ages could be beneficial for improving mental health of adults with disabilities.

Recommended Citation

Debasree Das Gupta, Uma Kelekar, Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya, Sidney Carl Turner (2025). Racial-ethnic differences in the associations between functional disabilities and subsequent depression among community-dwelling midlife and older adults in the US, Disability and Health Journal, 18(1), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101709.