Bad news for depressed elderly
26 July 2002
Elderly people with depression have a worse prognosis than has been previously thought, research from The Netherlands shows.
For 6 years, the researchers studied 277 elderly people diagnosed with depression who were living in the community. Remissions occurred in 23 per cent of cases, an unfavourable but fluctuating course in 44 per cent, and a severe chronic course in 32 per cent (Archives of General Psychiatry 2002; 59: 605-11).
People with a clinically significant level of depressive symptoms but who did not meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression or dysthymia (a tendency to despondency and depression) had the best prognosis (outlook for the future). People with major depression and dysthymia had the worst prognosis.
People with subthreshold depression had more than twice the risk of developing major depression or dysthymia after 6 years compared with the group of elderly people who were not depressed at the start of the study (27 per cent compared with 12 per cent).
Last Reviewed: 29 July 2002
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 26/7/02
