The Relationship Between Mindfulness and Depression in Community-Dwelling Frail Elderly

Takahiro Nishida ； Rieko Nakao ； Mika Nishihara ； Ryoko Kawasaki ； Ayumi Honda ； Sumihisa Honda

《International Journal of Gerontology》 13卷4期 (2019/12) Pp. 273-277

https://doi.org/10.6890/IJGE.201912_13(4).0002

摘要

Background: Mindfulness meditation is important in the field of mental health worldwide. In Japan, there is an urgent need to develop a depression prevention program for community-dwelling elderly people. The objective of the present study was to examine which mindfulness traits are associated with depressive symptoms among community-dwelling frail elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 82 Japanese frail elderly individuals aged ≥ 65 years living in a local city was conducted between December 2015 and March 2016. Participants completed a questionnaire survey that included items on age, sex, family structure, self-rated health, depression, and mindfulness traits. Mindfulness traits were measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), which is composed of the five facets of ＂observing＂, ＂describing＂, ＂acting with awareness＂, ＂non-judging＂, and ＂non-reacting＂. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) and participants were categorized as ＂with depressive symptoms＂ (GDS-15 ≥ 5) or ＂without depressive symptoms＂ (GDS-15 ＜ 5). A multiple logistic regression model was used to elucidate which variables, including each facet of the FFMQ, were independently associated with depressive symptoms. Results: Among the 82 participants, 32 (39%) had depressive symptoms. Multiple logistic analysis showed that poor self-rated health (odds ratio [OR], 10.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.21-47.84; p = 0.003), a low score for ＂acting with awareness＂ (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.94; p = 0.008), and a low score for ＂non-judging＂ (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.99; p = 0.034) were independently associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The traits of ＂acting with awareness＂ and ＂non-judging＂ in mindfulness were associated with depression among community-dwelling frail elderly.

關鍵字

mindfulness ； Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire ； depressive symptom ； frail elderly