Key Points
- To determine the prospective impact of minor and major depression on mortality in older adults and assess the influence of potential confounding and explanatory variables.
- Prospective cohort study of 3,056 community-dwelling men and women aged 55 to 85 years in the Netherlands followed for 4 years.
- Major depression was diagnosed using DSM-III criteria via the Diagnostic Interview Schedule; minor depression was classified as a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression score ≥ 16 without meeting major depression criteria.
- After adjusting for sociodemographics and health status, men with minor depression experienced a 1.80-fold higher risk of death (95% CI, 1.35–2.39), whereas minor depression was not significantly associated with mortality in women.
- Major depression was associated with a 1.83-fold higher mortality risk (95% CI, 1.09–3.10) in both sexes combined after adjustment for sociodemographic factors and baseline health status.
- Health behaviors including smoking and physical inactivity accounted for only a small proportion of the excess mortality risk linked to depression.
Structured PICO
Does minor or major depression increase the risk of death in older persons?
PPopulation3056 men and women from the Netherlands aged 55 to 85 years
IInterventionMinor depression (CES-D score >= 16) and major depression (DSM-III criteria)
CComparatorNondepressed individuals
OOutcomeMortality (risk of death)hard clinical
Minor depression in older men and major depression in both older men and women significantly increase the risk of mortality, independent of sociodemographics and health status.