Differences in mood between elderly persons living in different residential environments in Slovenia.

BACKGROUND Mood disorders are an important health risk factor in the elderly population. Studies on the relationship between residential environment and elder's psychological wellbeing show the worst psychological status results in institutionalized subjects. To elucidate this relationship in Slovenia, we compared cognitive functioning and the levels of anxiety and depression of Slovenian elders among different residential arrangements. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The subjects were recruited from elderly clubs (EC; living at home; n=32), elderly day care centers (EDC; living at home; n=22), and elderly homes (EH; institutionalized; n=49). All were female, 65-80 years of age and matched for their duration of education. We compared the cognitive status (Mini Mental State Examination) and the levels of depression and anxiety (Zung self-rating depression scale inventory, Zung self-rating anxiety scale inventory) among the three groups. For statistics ANOVA, MANOVA, and ANCOVA were used. RESULTS The EDC group showed the highest levels of anxiety, depression and cognitive decline compared to the EC and EH groups, with no statistically significant differences between the EC and EH groups did not differ significantly in these respects. Controlling for the cognitive status revealed that general cognitive functioning and residential environment did not exert their influence directly on the depression level, but rather through their interaction. Regarding anxiety levels, after controlling for the cognitive status no significant differences were found between the study groups. CONCLUSIONS In terms of anxiety and depression among Slovenian elders without or with moderate cognitive decline, home environment may be favored versus institutionalization. Visitors of EDC should probably receive more attention to their psychological wellbeing, including possible earlier transfer to EH.