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Five‐year prognosis for dysthymic disorder in old age
Author(s) -
Kivelä SirkkaLiisa,
KöngäsSaviaro Päivi,
Pahkala Kimmo,
Kesti Erkki,
Laippala Pekka
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.930081108
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , dysthymic disorder , libido , dementia , disease , medicine , psychiatry , pediatrics , psychomotor retardation , psychology , major depressive disorder , cognition , economics , macroeconomics , alternative medicine , pathology
The 5‐year prognosis for 199 elderly patients (60 yr+) suffering from dysthymic disorder is described. Twenty‐nine per cent of the men and 39% of the women recovered, 26% of both were suffering from depression after 5 years, 9% of both had a possible dementia, 32% of the men and 22% of the women had died and 3% of the men and 5% of the women could not be contacted. The outcome did not differ between the sexes or age groups. A poor prognosis among men was related to a low educational level, a non‐independent previous occupation, the occurrence of depression previously, a high number of hobbies and the following depressive symptoms: initial and delayed insomnia, retardation and psychomotor agitation. A poor prognosis was also found for those whose functional capacities, hobbies or emotional relations with their wives had declined or who had experienced a pulmonary disease or few or no social growth events during the follow‐up. A poor prognosis among women was related to low self‐perceived health, high sum score of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, thyroid disorder and the following depressive symptoms: loss of libido and diurnal variation of symptoms. A poor prognosis was also found for those whose physical health, functional capacities, social participation rate or hobbies had declined or who had experienced a serious disease during the follow‐up. A favourable prognosis was found for women who moved to live alone or became more active in taking physical exercise.