RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Does subjective social status predict depressive symptoms in Chinese elderly? A longitudinal study from Hong Kong JF Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health JO J Epidemiol Community Health FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 882 OP 891 DO 10.1136/jech-2019-212451 VO 74 IS 11 A1 Elizabeth Kwong A1 Timothy T Y Kwok A1 Timothy S Sumerlin A1 William B Goggins A1 Jason Leung A1 Jean H Kim YR 2020 UL http://jech.bmj.com/content/74/11/882.abstract AB Background Subjective social status (SSS), one’s self-perceived social status, has been gaining interest among researchers as a risk/protective factor of many health outcomes. SSS encompasses both socio-economic factors (eg, income) and intangible aspects of status (eg, esteem from peers). This study’s main objective was to examine the association between SSS and future risk of depression in elderly Chinese.Methods Using data from the ongoing Mr/Mrs Os study, a longitudinal study of Hong Kong Chinese elderly, this study analysed baseline SSS-Hong Kong (self-perceived social status within Hong Kong) and SSS-Community (self-perceived status within one’s own social network) as predictors of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) score at year 4 (n=3153). The models adjusted for baseline depression scores, socio-economic status indicators, demographic variables, clinical conditions and functional status variables.Results Higher depression scores at follow-up were independently associated with lower SSS-Hong Kong (standardised β-coefficient= −0.040, p=0.017), lower SSS-Community (standardised β-coefficient= −0.057, p=0.001), in addition to older age, female gender and stroke history. After stratifying by dementia status, higher baseline SSS was associated with less depressive symptoms only in the non-dementia group. In the multivariable models that included both SSS variables, only SSS-Community was significantly associated with year 4 GDS score. However, both SSS variables were independently associated with year 4 depression status in the logistic regression analysis.Conclusion In Chinese elderly, SSS captures aspects of social status that are not captured by traditional socio-economic indicators. SSS can be a useful supplementary tool for assessing future risk of developing mental health conditions.