Age at onset in geriatric depression: relationship to clinical variables.

The significance of age at onset of first depressive episode was evaluated in an elderly depressed population. A prospective study of 71 consecutively admitted inpatients with a diagnosis of major unipolar depression examined the relationship between age at onset of illness and several clinical variables. Subjects divided into early-onset (EO) and late-onset (LO) groups, matched for current age, did not significantly differ in terms of symptomatology, cognitive impairment, physical illness, family history or treatment responsivity. These findings do not support a nosologic separation of EO and LO depression in geriatric patients.