 |
|
Incidence and Recurrence of Late-Life Depression
Hendrika J. Luijendijk, MD, MPH;
Julia F. van den Berg, MA, MSc;
Marieke J. H. J. Dekker, MD, MSc;
Hendrik R. van Tuijl, MA;
Wim Otte, MD;
Filip Smit, PhD;
Albert Hofman, MD, PhD;
Bruno H. C. Stricker, MB, PhD;
Henning Tiemeier, MD, PhD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65(12):1394-1401.
Context Depression is common in old age. Nevertheless, few incidence studies have established how often depression occurs in elderly persons with and without a history of depression.
Objectives To determine the incidence and recurrence rates of depression in an elderly population.
Design, Setting, and Participants A cohort study of community-dwelling elderly persons aged 56 years or older residing in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, performed between September 1993 and October 2005 and encompassing baseline and 2 follow-up examinations as well as continuous procedures. The study population consisted of 5653 participants free of dementia. Depression was identified through standardized psychiatric examinations, monitoring of medical records, registration of antidepressant use, and self-reported histories of depression. We categorized the depression as depressive syndromes, including DSM-IV–defined major depression, or clinically relevant depressive symptoms.
Main Outcome Measures Incidence and recurrence rates for depressive syndromes as well as for depressive syndromes and symptoms combined. In addition to overall rates, sex- and age-specific rates were calculated.
Results During the follow-up period of 8 years on average, 566 depressive syndromes and 1073 episodes of clinically relevant depressive symptoms occurred. For depressive syndromes, the incidence rate was 7.0 (95% confidence interval, 6.0-8.3) per 1000 person-years and the recurrence rate was 27.5 (95% confidence interval, 23.7-32.1) per 1000 person-years. The incidence and recurrence rates more than doubled when episodes of depressive symptoms were included. The recurrence rate of depressive syndromes was equal for women and men, but all other rates were almost twice as high for women compared with men. No rates seemed to change with age.
Conclusions The incidence rate of depression in the elderly population is low except when episodes of clinically relevant depressive symptoms are accounted for. Most late-life depression occurs in persons with a history of depression. Moreover, the recurrence rate of depressive syndromes does not differ between men and women.
Author Affiliations: Parnassia Bavo Groep, Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Institution for Mental Health Care (Drs Luijendijk and Otte) and Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Drs Luijendijk, Hofman, Stricker, and Tiemeier and Ms van den Berg), Internal Medicine (Dr Dekker), Psychiatry (Mr van Tuijl), and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Dr Tiemeier), Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Trimbos Insitute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, and Department of Clinical Psychology and EMGO Institute, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Dr Smit); and Inspectorate for Health Care, The Hague, The Netherlands (Dr Stricker).
 CiteULike  Connotea  Delicious  Digg  Facebook  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLE
This Month in Archives of General Psychiatry
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65(12):1355.
FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
The Effect of Common Genetic Variation in 11{beta}-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity and Incident Depression
Dekker et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2012;97:E233-E237.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Psychosocial interventions for the promotion of mental health and the prevention of depression among older adults
Forsman et al.
HEALTH PROMOT INT 2011;26:i85-i107.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Cognitive components of social capital and mental health status among older adults: A population-based cross-sectional study
Forsman et al.
Scand J Public Health 2011;39:757-765.
ABSTRACT
Transient Ischemic Attack and Incident Depression
Luijendijk et al.
Stroke 2011;42:1857-1861.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Psychosocial Interventions for the Prevention of Depression in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Forsman et al.
J Aging Health 2011;23:387-416.
ABSTRACT
Atherosclerosis and Incident Depression in Late Life
Newson et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2010;67:1144-1150.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Mental health literacy, folic acid and vitamin B12, and physical activity for the prevention of depression in older adults: randomised controlled trial
Walker et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2010;197:45-54.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
The PCLO gene and depressive disorders: replication in a population-based study
Hek et al.
Hum Mol Genet 2010;19:731-734.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation on Depressive Symptoms and on Health-Related Quality of Life in the Treatment of Elderly Women with Depression: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial
Rondanelli et al.
J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 2010;29:55-64.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Geriatric Depression: Recurrences Are Common
JWatch Psychiatry 2009;2009:8-8.
FULL TEXT
|
