Widowhood is common in old age, can be accompanied by serious health consequences and is often linked to substantial changes in social network. Little is known about the impact of social isolation on the development of depressive symptoms over time taking widowhood into account. We provide results from the follow-up 5 to follow-up 9 from the longitudinal study AgeCoDe and its follow-up study AgeQualiDe. Depression was measured with GDS-15 and social isolation was assessed using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6). The group was aligned of married and widowed people in old age and education through entropy balancing. Linear mixed models were used to examine the frequency of occurrence of depressive symptoms for widowed and married elderly people depending on the risk of social isolation. Our study shows that widowhood alone does not lead to an increased occurrence of depressive symptoms. However, “widowed oldest old”, who are also at risk of social isolation, have significantly more depressive symptoms than those without risk. In the group of “married oldest old”, women have significantly more depressive symptoms than men, but isolated and non-isolated do not differ. Especially for people who have lost a spouse, the social network changes significantly and increases the risk for social isolation. This represents a risk factor for the occurrence of depressive symptoms.

(1) The rising proportion of older adults in the population represents a challenge for the healthcare system. Women and men age differently. This study aims to examine gender-specific characteristics of health in old age from male and female perspectives. (2) Two focus groups were formed in this qualitative study of older (70+) women (n = 10) and men (n = 8) in accordance with the theoretical framework of the World Health Organization (WHO) on healthy ageing determinants. The data were audio recorded and fully transcribed. Qualitative content analysis was performed using MAXQDA. (3) In both focus groups (average age: women 77.1 years, men 74.9 years), gender-specific characteristics regarding healthy ageing were discussed. Women focused on healthy eating, while men focused on an active lifestyle and meaningful activities. Physical and social activities were considered as important for healthy ageing in both groups. (4) Important gender-specific characteristics of health in old age were identified and recommendations for gender-unspecific and gender-specific recommendations were derived. The results provide important information for promoting and maintaining health in old age. Women and men show both similarities and differences in terms of health-related needs and individual experiences. We suggest gender-specific features in nutrition and health programs for older adults.

Zusammenfassung: Ziel der Studie Untersuchung der Nutzungsakzeptanz eines internetbasierten Selbstmanagementprogramms für Depressionen. Methodik Durchführung qualitativer Patienteninterviews (N = 7) und einer Expertenfokusgruppe (N = 12 Experten). Ergebnisse Internetprogramme stellen einen komplementären Behandlungsbaustein dar. Gewünscht werden folgende Themenverknüpfungen: Übergewicht, Bewegung, Depression und sozialer Austausch. Schlussfolgerung Patienten- und Expertenurteile zeigen eine hohe Nutzungsakzeptanz. Eine Implementation solcher Programme sollte soziale und körperliche Aspekte berücksichtigen.