Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31792532›Full record

ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2021

Discordant Chronic Conditions and Depressive Symptoms: Longitudinal Associations Among Middle-Aged and Older Couples.

Courtney A Polenick, Kira S Birditt, Angela Turkelson, Benjamin C Bugajski, Helen C Kales

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Tale of Two Societies: Social Engagement, Marital Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms Among Couples in Rural and Urban China.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025
    Article
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  7. Review
  8. Chronic condition discordance and physical activity among midlife and older couples.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2021
    Article
  9. Individual-Level and Couple-Level Discordant Chronic Conditions: Longitudinal Links to Functional Disability.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Courtney A PolenickDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Kira S BirdittInstitute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Angela TurkelsonInstitute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Benjamin C BugajskiDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Helen C KalesDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
University of Michigan · US

Funding

Couples Managing Early-Stage Dementia: Mutual Influences on Daily Stress, Self-Care, and Well-BeingK01AG059829 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI POLENICK, COURTNEY A. · 2018 to 2022
$664k
Multimorbidity Patterns in Middle-Aged and Older Couples: Implications for Psychological Well-Being and Health BehaviorsR03AG057838 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI POLENICK, COURTNEY A. · 2018 to 2019
$156k
NIA NIH HHS K01 AG059829NIA NIH HHS R03 AG057838
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesIndividuals often manage chronic conditions in middle and later life that may diminish well-being. Little is known, however, about discordant conditions (i.e., two or more conditions with competing self-management requirements) among older couples and their links to depressive symptoms. We considered discordant conditions at both the individual level and the couple level (i.e., between spouses), along with their long-term implications for depressive symptoms.

methodsThe U.S. sample included 1,116 middle-aged and older couples drawn from five waves (2006-2014) of the Health and Retirement Study. Longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models evaluated whether individual-level and couple-level discordant chronic health conditions were concurrently linked to depressive symptoms, and whether these associations became stronger over time. Models controlled for age, minority status, education, prior wave depressive symptoms, and each partner's baseline report of negative marital quality and number of chronic conditions in each wave.

resultsWives and husbands reported significantly greater depressive symptoms when they had individual-level discordant conditions about 2 years after baseline, and these links intensified over time. Beyond this association, husbands had significantly greater depressive symptoms when there were couple-level discordant conditions. DISCUSSION: Individual-level and couple-level discordant conditions may have lasting implications for depressive symptoms during midlife and older adulthood.

Indexed as

DepressionMultiple Chronic ConditionsAgedFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMarriageMiddle AgedRisk FactorsSelf-ManagementSpousesTimeUnited StatesDepressionMorbidityMultimorbiditiesSpouses

Identifiers

PMID31792532
PMCPMC7887728
OpenAlexW2992277430

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.