BACKGROUND: Depression is the most common mental disorder in the community-dwelling elderly. AIMS: To determine the three-year prognosis of depression in a cohort of 127 community-dwelling elderly subjects and identify factors relevant to outcome. METHOD: The subjects, diagnosed depressed at year 0 using the GMS-AGECAT package, were followed up three years later. A number of factors were investigated for an association with recovery from, or persistence of, depression. RESULTS: At follow-up, 30.2% of the depressed subjects had died, 34.9% had persistent or relapsed case-level depression, 24.5% had other case- or sub-case-level mental illness and 10.4% had recovered completely. Physical ill-health, bereavement and positive family history of depression were associated with poor outcome, whereas treatment with antidepressant medication significantly improved prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Late-life depression in community-dwelling subjects is a chronic condition. However, the positive response to antidepressant medication suggests that it should be vigorously treated.
BACKGROUND:Depression is the most common mental disorder in the community-dwelling elderly. AIMS: To determine the three-year prognosis of depression in a cohort of 127 community-dwelling elderly subjects and identify factors relevant to outcome. METHOD: The subjects, diagnosed depressed at year 0 using the GMS-AGECAT package, were followed up three years later. A number of factors were investigated for an association with recovery from, or persistence of, depression. RESULTS: At follow-up, 30.2% of the depressed subjects had died, 34.9% had persistent or relapsed case-level depression, 24.5% had other case- or sub-case-level mental illness and 10.4% had recovered completely. Physical ill-health, bereavement and positive family history of depression were associated with poor outcome, whereas treatment with antidepressant medication significantly improved prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Late-life depression in community-dwelling subjects is a chronic condition. However, the positive response to antidepressant medication suggests that it should be vigorously treated.
Authors: Rachel A Murphy; Ashley K Hagaman; Ilse Reinders; Jeremy A Steeves; Anne B Newman; Susan M Rubin; Suzanne Satterfield; Stephen B Kritchevsky; Kristine Yaffe; Hilsa N Ayonayon; Daniel S Nagin; Eleanor M Simonsick; Brenda W J H Penninx; Tamara B Harris Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2015-08-13 Impact factor: 6.053
Authors: Raquelle I Mesholam-Gately; Anthony J Giuliano; Eric A Zillmer; Lamia P Barakat; Anand Kumar; Ruben C Gur; Lisa M McAndrew; Warren B Bilker; Virginia Elderkin-Thompson; Paul J Moberg Journal: Arch Clin Neuropsychol Date: 2011-12-21 Impact factor: 2.813
Authors: Hyong Jin Cho; Helen Lavretsky; Richard Olmstead; Myron J Levin; Michael N Oxman; Michael R Irwin Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2008-09-02 Impact factor: 18.112