Eating alone and depression in older men and women by cohabitation status: The JAGES longitudinal survey

Background: Eating by oneself may be a risk factor for mental illness among older adults, but may be influenced by cohabitation status. We examined the association between eating alone and depression in the context of cohabitation status in older adults in Japan.

Design: A longitudinal, population-based study.

Setting: Data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study.

Subjects: We analysed 17,612 men and 19,581 women aged ≥65 without depression (Geriatric Depression Scale <5) at baseline in 2010.

Methods: Eating status was classified into two categories: eating with others and eating alone. The risk of depression onset by 2013 was estimated using Poisson regression.

Results: After adjusting for socioeconomic status, physical health, nutritional status, social support, social participation, frequency of meet friends, employment status and marital status, the adjusted rate ratio (ARR) for depression onset in men who ate alone compared with those who ate with others was 2.36 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.18-4.71) for those living alone and 1.03 (95% CI: 0.81-1.32) for those living with others. Among women, the ARR for depression for those who ate alone compared with those who ate with others was 1.31 (95% CI: 1.00-1.72) for those living alone and 1.21 (95% CI: 1.01-1.44) for those living with others.

Conclusions: Eating alone may be a risk factor for depression. Among men, the effect of eating alone on depression may be reinforced by living alone, but appears to be broadly comparable in women living alone and women living with others.