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Late‐Onset Depressive Episodes in the Elderly: Examination of Evidence for a Separate Nosological Entity
Author(s) -
Artero Sylvaine,
Ritchie Karen
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
psychogeriatrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.647
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1479-8301
pISSN - 1346-3500
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-8301.2001.tb00048.x
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , comorbidity , disease , psychology , late life depression , family history , depressive symptoms , disease entity , psychiatry , clinical psychology , medicine , cognition , economics , macroeconomics
Depression in the elderly is common, and while sharing many of the features of early‐onset depression, differences in presenting symptomatology, family history of affective disorder, and prognosis together raise the possibility that late‐life depression may constitute a disease subtype or even a separate nosological entity. A review of the literature over the past 30 years with relation to depression in elderly cohorts was used as the basis for examining to what extent present evidence confirmed the existence of a separate entity according to predetermined criteria. Comparisons of clinical cohorts suggest quantitative rather than qualitative differences and are inconclusive due to disparities in methodology which preclude meta‐analysis. Depression in the elderly appears to be commonly attributable to comorbidity, in particular ageing‐related vascular changes, rather than genetic factors. It is thus more likely to be a syndrome due to varying underlying causes rather than a separate disease entity.