BACKGROUND: A persistent course of depression has been described in subjects with and without dementia. Up to the present it is unclear to what extent dementia affects the prognosis of depression. METHOD: At baseline and at 6 and 12 months follow-up AGECAT depression diagnoses were made in 49 subjects with and 72 subjects without DSM-III-R dementia living in homes for the elderly. RESULTS: Adjusting for demographic characteristics and physical health, dementia was not associated with the severity of depression at follow up. The baseline depression severity and to a lesser extent somatic complaints predicted a bad prognosis of depression in the total sample. LIMITATIONS: Because of the high vulnerability of the residents the results cannot be generalised to other populations of elderly subjects. CONCLUSION: Depression is persistent in residents of homes for the elderly. Dementia does not affect its course.
BACKGROUND: A persistent course of depression has been described in subjects with and without dementia. Up to the present it is unclear to what extent dementia affects the prognosis of depression. METHOD: At baseline and at 6 and 12 months follow-up AGECAT depression diagnoses were made in 49 subjects with and 72 subjects without DSM-III-R dementia living in homes for the elderly. RESULTS: Adjusting for demographic characteristics and physical health, dementia was not associated with the severity of depression at follow up. The baseline depression severity and to a lesser extent somatic complaints predicted a bad prognosis of depression in the total sample. LIMITATIONS: Because of the high vulnerability of the residents the results cannot be generalised to other populations of elderly subjects. CONCLUSION:Depression is persistent in residents of homes for the elderly. Dementia does not affect its course.
Authors: Mark B Snowden; Lesley E Steinman; Lucinda L Bryant; Monique M Cherrier; Kurt J Greenlund; Katherine H Leith; Cari Levy; Rebecca G Logsdon; Catherine Copeland; Mia Vogel; Lynda A Anderson; David C Atkins; Janice F Bell; Annette L Fitzpatrick Journal: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2017-02-01 Impact factor: 3.485
Authors: Mark B Snowden; David C Atkins; Lesley E Steinman; Janice F Bell; Lucinda L Bryant; Catherine Copeland; Annette L Fitzpatrick Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2014-09-21 Impact factor: 4.105
Authors: Rianne M van der Linde; Tom Dening; Blossom C M Stephan; A Matthew Prina; Elizabeth Evans; Carol Brayne Journal: Br J Psychiatry Date: 2016-08-04 Impact factor: 9.319