Sociodemographic factors and health indicators contributing to self-reported psychological distress in older community dwelling South Australians

Background: The social, political, health and economic challenges contributing to distress amongst contemporary older Australians are different to those faced by the previous generation. There is growing awareness that middle aged Australians may be exhibiting early indicators of frailty and poor health once common only amongst the elderly, while balancing long work hours, often family unfriendly and unstable employment, with careing for young children and ageing parents. Modifiable sources of distress should be acknowledged and addressed to improve the quality of life of older Australians. Objective: This study investigates the relationship between health measures and sociodemographic factors and the psychological distress of respondents, across three stages of adults’ working lives, categorised by age: “Working” (40-54 years of age), “Pre-retirement” (55-64 years) and “Retirement” (65-75 years). Method: A cohort of 547 community dwelling South Australians self administered the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) as part of a broader health assessment. Respondents were categorised as having low (10-15), moderate (16-21) or high (22-50) distress. Poisson regression was used to measure associations between K10 categories and sociodemographic and health variables, stratified by stage of working life groups. Results: Respondents in the Working group were significantly more likely to report high psychological distress (18%, p<0.001), compared to the Pre-retirement (11%) and Retirement (8%) groups. For the Working group, poor-quality sleep, relying on a pension, and disengagement with their community were significantly associated with higher distress. For those in the Pre-retirement group, current pain, feeling frail, poor-quality sleep, both living with a partner, being unpartnered, and disengagement with their community were significantly associated with higher distress. For Retirees, only poor-quality sleep was significantly associated with increased distress. Conclusion: Respondents appeared to be distressed by age-related health conditions at Pre-retirement age but may be too burdened by competing sociodemographic stressors to effectively work towards addressing their burgeoning health concerns. Earlier intervention to support those of Working and Pre-retirement age to address their health concerns may enable individuals to intervene to delay age-related health decline.