Association of Subjective Social Support With Antidepressant Treatment Response Among Older Depressed Adults in the Neurobiology of Late-Life Depression Study

TL;DR

This study found that older adults with more social support had better responses to antidepressant treatment for late-life depression.

Contribution

The novel contribution is identifying subjective social support as a significant factor in antidepressant treatment response for late-life depression.

Findings

Higher subjective social support was associated with a greater decline in depression scores over 3 months.

The association remained significant after controlling for age, race, gender, education, and initial depression severity.

Abstract

Lack of subjective social support is associated with a variety of significant public health conditions that particularly affect older adults. We sought to examine the effects of subjective social support on treatment outcomes of late-life depression (LLD).

Participants in the Neurobiology of Late-Life Depression (NBOLD) Study provided self-reports regarding social support and loneliness. Study psychiatrists evaluated depressive symptoms using the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and provided treatment with standard antidepressants. Multiple linear regression analysis examined associations between social support subscales and depression treatment outcomes, controlling for age, race, gender, education, and initial MADRS score, with the primary outcome being a change in MADRS score.

Among the 80 depressed participants, higher subjective social support was associated with a greater MADRS score decline over the 3-month treatment period.

Subjective social support is significantly associated with antidepressant treatment response to LLD, highlighting a possible key factor in the management of depression in older adults.