Potential for community programs to prevent depression in older people

Michael J. Bird*, Ruth A. Parslow

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    31 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in older people. Sequelae include unnecessary suffering, excess physical and social disability, exacerbation of co-existing illness, earlier death, and overuse of services. There are currently no reported public health approaches to prevent late-life depression. Five risk factors appear susceptible to community-level prevention programs: recurrent depression, commonly undertreated precipitants, vascular disease, functional impairments, and metabolite abnormalities. We propose three broad but interacting prevention methods: increasing literacy about late-life depression, exercise, and dietary supplements.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)S107-S110
    JournalMedical Journal of Australia
    Volume177
    Issue number7 SUPPL.
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 7 Oct 2002

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