Key result
Late-onset depression in older adults is linked to vascular disease, disability, and mortality.
Why the study?
Depression is becoming a major public health problem in people aged 65 and over, with particular groups at risk needing identification for early detection and intervention.
Highlights the growing public health problem of depression in older adults, including late-onset depression with possible vascular causes, and the need for further research on its association with disability and mortality.
May prompt vascular risk screening in late-onset depression; leaves open whether targeted interventions improve executive outcomes.
The present review on depression in older people is occurring at a time when depression is fast becoming a major public health problem throughout the world with a very high prevalence rate in the 65 and over age group. Particular groups at risk will need to be identified so that early detection and interventions can be implemented. The concept of late-onset depression with a possible vascular cause, poor treatment response to antidepressants and a specific disability of executive dysfunction has developed further and has opened the field to the possibility of primary prevention and the opportunity of development of new treatments for this debilitating condition. Much confusion exists about the nature of the association between disability and depression and there is an urgent need for research in this area if we are to understand depression, its disabilities and mortality further.
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Francisco Bagulho (2002) conducted a review in Depression. Late-onset depression in older adults is a major public health problem with potential vascular causes, requiring further research to understand its association with disability and mortality.
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