Geographic Elevation, Car Driving, and Depression among Elderly Residents in Rural Areas: The Shimane CoHRE Study
1
Institute of General Education, Kyoto Sangyo University, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
2
Department of Functional Pathology, School of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan
3
Center for Community-Based Health Research and Education (CoHRE), Organization for the Promotion of Project Research, Shimane University, 223-8 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan
4
Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Clinical Research Centre (CRC), Building 28, floor 11, Jan Waldenströms Gata 35, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö SE-205 02, Sweden
5
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Medical School Office Building (MSOB), 251 Campus Drive MC 5411, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(7), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13070738
Received: 26 April 2016 / Revised: 7 July 2016 / Accepted: 19 July 2016 / Published: 21 July 2016
Given that public transportation networks are often worse in rural areas than in urban areas, it is difficult for elderly non-drivers to access health-promoting goods, services, and resources related to mental health. Moreover, geographical location, assessed by elevation, could modify this association in a rural area. The aim of this study was to test whether the association between car driving (being a driver or not) and depression, as measured by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), varied by elevation. Data were collected from a cross-sectional study conducted in the town of Ohnan located in a rural area of Japan. After excluding participants with missing data (n = 26), 876 participants were analysed in this study. After adjustment for potential confounders, being a non-driver had a significantly higher odds ratio of SDS (40+) among elderly people living at a low elevation (odds ratio = 2.17, 95% confidence interval = 1.28–3.71). However, similar findings were not observed among elderly people living at a high elevation. These results suggest that car driving importantly predicts depression in elderly people living at relatively low elevations in rural areas.
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Keywords:
depression; elevation; rural area; elderly people
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MDPI and ACS Style
Hamano, T.; Takeda, M.; Sundquist, K.; Nabika, T. Geographic Elevation, Car Driving, and Depression among Elderly Residents in Rural Areas: The Shimane CoHRE Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 738.
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