Socioeconomic Status and its association with depressive symptoms among older adults in a Swedish population, a comprehensive study.

Abstract: This study pursues a three-fold objective. Firstly, it aims to examine the existence of an association between three key socioeconomic status (SES) indicators – education, social class, and cash margin – and depressive symptoms among older adults in Sweden. Secondly, it seeks to identify the indicator with the most pronounced impact on depressive symptoms in this age group. Thirdly, the study investigates whether additional factors influence the observed association between SES indicators and depressive symptoms.    Utilizing data from the Swedish Longitudinal Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old in 2014 (SWEOLD-2014), logistic regression and Average Marginal Effect (AME) methods were employed. The results reveal that all SES indicators exhibit associations with depressive symptoms among older adults. Notably, the association with cash margin is found to be the most robust. Furthermore, the study indicates that the relationships between SES indicators and depressive symptoms are partially influenced by social life, health problems, and feeling unsafe in the living environment.