| Older Adults and Depression | |
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Depression, however, is not a normal part of aging. Research has clearly demonstrated the importance of diagnosing and treating depression in older persons.
Because major depression is typically a recurrent disorder, relapse prevention is a high priority for treatment research. As noted previously, a recent NIMH-supported study established the efficacy of combined antidepressant medication and interpersonal psychotherapy in reducing depressive relapses in older adults who had recovered from an episode of depression.
Additionally, recent NIMH studies show that 13 to 27 percent of older adults have subclinical depressions that do not meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression or dysthymia but are associated with increased risk of major depression, physical disability, medical illness, and high use of health services. Subclinical depressions cause considerable suffering, and some clinicians are now beginning to recognize and treat them.
Suicide is more common among the elderly than in any other age group. NIMH research has shown that nearly all people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder.
In studies of older adults who committed suicide, nearly all had major depression, typically a first episode, though very few had a substance abuse disorder. Suicide among white males aged 85 and older was nearly six times the national U.S. rate (65 per 100,000 compared with 11 per 100,000) in 1996, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Prevention of suicide in older adults is a high priority area in the NIMH prevention research portfolio.
NIMH Depression Index
Articles and publications from the National Institute National Institute of Mental Health with the latest research about depression.
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National Institute of Mental Health
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