Major depression as a predictor of premature deaths in lderly people in Finland: a community study

Abstract

In order to analyse the survival of elderly Finnish people with major depression, a total of 29 elderly (> or =65 years) subjects suffering from major depression (DSM-III criteria) and 853 non-depressed elderly subjects were followed up for 6 years. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed the survival of patients suffering from major depression to be poorer than that of non-depressed subjects. When age, sex, marital status, level of education, smoking habits, physical health, functional abilities and major depression were introduced into the Cox model, advanced age, male sex, smoking, poor physical health, reduced functional abilities and the occurrence of major depression were found to be related to higher levels of mortality. The results suggest that major depression in the elderly predicts higher mortality which is not explained by their poor baseline level of physical health alone.

Depressive symptoms in community-dwelling persons aged ≥60 years in Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal

“…International reports have shown that depression is associated with increased overall mortality in the elderly. [26] The INK population may therefore be at significant risk for both suicide and increased mortality in view of the high frequency of depressive symptoms shown in this study. This information should be used to screen for depressive symptoms and risk factors routinely, and the relevant bodies including healthcare practitioners, community leaders, community elders, social workers, and organisations involved with the elderly should be encouraged to become involved in promoting successful ageing.…”

Depression, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Two-Year Mortality Among Older, Primary-Care Patients

“…Many prospective studies [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], though not all [17][18][19][20][21][22], have found that depression increases the risk of death for older persons. Primary care occupies a strategic position in the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of the mental disturbances of late life [23][24][25][26][27].…”

Association Between Depression and Mortality in Older Adults

“…In general, studies 6,[13][14][15][16][17]30 that fail to find a depressionmortality link include multiple self-report indicators of well-being and functioning. In contrast, studies 3,4,7,[31][32][33][34] that show a significant association between depression and mortality typically rely on assessments of health and functioning based on relatively objective tests, ratings of study participants by an external evaluator, or both. This pattern is supported by our own data as well.…”