Depression More Severe, Persistent in Seniors

A study published in Lancet Psychiatry showed that the progress of major depressive disorder (MDD) got worse linearly with age, so that individuals aged 70 and older had the worst outcomes, after adjusting for clinical, social, and health factors, reports Medscape . The researchers employed data from two cohort studies with a total of 1,042 participants aged 18 to 88. Four indicators were used to characterize development of depression over time: the presence of six-monthy depression diagnoses after two years; a chronic course of depressive symptoms; time to remission; and depression severity change, expressed as the depression severity score at two-year follow-up minus the baseline depression severity. Older age was determined to be significantly associated with a worse two-year course for all four indicators, and the progression of MDD exacerbated linearly with increasing age. The effects were expressed in the presence of a chronic course of depression, and average depression severity change with dysthymia as the predominant driver of depression. Individuals aged 70 years or older had worse outcomes than those in the 18 to 29 range. Rush University Medical Center Professor John Zajecka notes the study "reinforces the notion that traditional antidepressants may not work in all people."