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Background Depression is a common disorder in old age and increases with hospitalisation. The aim was to investigate whether improvement in depressive symptoms after hospitalisation is associated with education level, age, gender, living situation, self-efficacy, activities in daily living and quality of life by (1) examining the prevalence of depressive symptoms at baseline and at 1st and 2nd follow-up (2) examining different factors' association with depressive symptoms at baseline and (3) examining different factors' association with improvement in depressive symptoms at baseline and at 1st and 2nd follow-up. Methods The study consisted of 145 patients, 65 years and older. Data were collected between February 2015 and September 2016 through interviews conducted using structured protocols. The instrument used was Katz index of ADL, Geriatric Depression Scale-20, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. The participants were interviewed before discharge from hospital, after 1.5 month and after 3 months. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms in older persons was high after hospitalisation. Factors associated with improvement of depressive symptoms after hospitalisation were higher educational level, improvement in activities in daily living and quality of life. Non-significant results were found for improvement of depressive symptoms and gender, age, living situation or self-efficacy. Conclusions Depression is a common health problem in older persons, especially after hospitalisation. It is therefore important that healthcare staff screen older persons for depression during hospitalisation, as this allows identification of those in need and a possibility to help them in an appropriate manner. Persons with lower educational level and depressive symptoms need special attention.