Late life depression

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Main article: Clinical depression

Some people have the mistaken idea that it is normal for the elderly to feel depressed. On the contrary, most older people feel satisfied with their lives. Sometimes, though, when depression develops, it may be dismissed as a normal part of aging. Depression in the elderly, undiagnosed and untreated, causes needless suffering for the family and for the individual who could otherwise live a fruitful life. When he or she does go to the doctor, the symptoms described are usually physical, for the older person is often reluctant to discuss feelings of hopelessness, sadness, loss of interest in normally pleasurable activities, or extremely prolonged grief after a loss.

Recognizing how depressive symptoms in older people are often missed, many health care professionals are learning to identify and treat the underlying depression. They recognize that some symptoms may be side effects of medication the older person is taking for a physical problem, or they may be caused by a co-occurring illness. If a diagnosis of depression is made, treatment with medication and/or psychotherapy will help the depressed person return to a happier, more fulfilling life. Recent research suggests that brief psychotherapy (talk therapies that help a person in day-to-day relationships or in learning to counter the distorted negative thinking that commonly accompanies depression) is effective in reducing symptoms in short-term depression in older persons who are medically ill. Psychotherapy is also useful in older patients who cannot or will not take medication. Efficacy studies show that late-life depression can be treated with psychotherapy.4

Improved recognition and treatment of depression in late life will make those years more enjoyable and fulfilling for the depressed elderly person, the family, and caretakers.NIMH

Main article: Late life depression:Theoretical approaches.

Main article: Late life depression:Epidemiology.

Main article: Late life depression:Risk factors.

Main article: Late life depression:Etiology.

Main article: Late life depression:Diagnosis & evaluation.

Main article: Late life depression:Comorbidity.

Main article: Late life depression:Treatment.

Main article: Late life depression:Prognosis.

Main article: Depression and physical illness in the elderly

See also

• Suicide and older adults

Key Texts – Books

• Blazer, D G (2001)Depression in Late Life. Springer Publishing Company. ISBN 0826114520
• Karel M J, Ogland-Hand S, Gatz M, Unutzer J (2002) Assessing and Treating Late-Life Depression ISBN 0465095437

Key Texts – Papers

• Lebowitz BD, Pearson JL, Schneider LS, Reynolds CF, Alexopoulos GS, Bruce MI, Conwell Y, Katz IR, Meyers BS, Morrison MF, Mossey J, Niederehe G, Parmelee P. Diagnosis and treatment of depression in late life: consensus statement update. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997; 278(14): 1186 90.

• Gallo JJ, Rabins PV. Depression without sadness: alternative presentations of depression in late life. American Family Physician, 1999; 60(3): 820 6.

• Conwell Y. Suicide in later life: a review and recommendations for prevention. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 2001; 31(Suppl): 32 47.

• Bruce ML, Pearson JL. Designing an intervention to prevent suicide: PROSPECT (Prevention of Suicide in Primary Care Elderly: Collaborative Trial). Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 1999; 1(2): 100 12.

• Little JT, Reynolds CF III, Dew MA, Frank E, Begley AE, Miller MD, Cornes C, Mazumdar S, Perel JM, Kupfer DJ. How common is resistance to treatment in recurrent, nonpsychotic geriatric depression? American Journal of Psychiatry, 1998; 155(8): 1035 8.

• Reynolds CF III, Frank E, Perel JM, Imber SD, Cornes C, Miller MD, Mazumdar S, Houck PR, Dew MA, Stack JA, Pollock BG, Kupfer DJ. Nortriptyline and interpersonal psychotherapy as maintenance therapies for recurrent major depression: a randomized controlled trial in patients older than 59 years. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1999; 281(1): 39 45.

Additional material - Papers

• Sarbadhikari, S. N. (ed.) (2005) Depression and Dementia:Progress in Brain Research, Clinical Applications and Future Trends. Hauppauge, Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 1-59454-114-0.

External links

NIMH