Outcome of depression and dysthymia in a very elderly population: Results from a three-year follow-up study

Depression is a common disorder in the elderly. In population-based studies the rate of treatment is low. In spite of this most of the studies on the outcome of depression in the elderly are based on treated series. This study used data from a population of 1101 very elderly persons. Of these, 7.2% (n = 78) were diagnosed as having a major depression and 3.5% (n = 39) as having a dysthymia at an initial examination. Both syndromes were over-represented in persons affected by dementia. Seventy-seven per cent of the depressed persons had consulted a physician recently and 17% were treated for depression. Three years later those who were depressed and had survived were re-examined. At the follow-up examination, 48.6% of the non-demented persons and 14.3% of the demented were depressed. In conclusion, the rate of treatment of depression in the very elderly is low and the course is chronic or relapsing in almost half of the cases.