Aims The first aim of this study was to provide prevalence suicidal feelings over time (past week, past month, past year and lifetime) in a population-based sample of old to very old adults without dementia. Does prevalence change with rising age? The second aim was to examine the fluctuation of suicidal feelings over time. How does this coincide with depression status? Methods Data were derived from the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies (the H70 studies) which are multidisciplinary longitudinal studies on ageing. A representative sample of adults in Gothenburg, Sweden with birth years 1901–1944 were invited to take part in a longitudinal health study on ageing and participated at one or more occasions during 1986–2014. The sample consisted of 6668 observations originating from 3972 participants without dementia between the ages of 70 and 108, including 1604 participants with multiple examination times. Suicidal feelings were examined during a psychiatric interview using the Paykel questions (life not worth living, death wishes, thoughts of taking own life, seriously considered taking life, attempted suicide). Results Prevalence figures for suicidal feelings of any severity were as follows: past week 4.8%, past month 6.7%, past year 11.2% and lifetime 25.2%. Prevalence rates increased with age in the total group and in women but not in men. Suicidal feelings were common in participants with concurrent major or minor depression, but over a third of the participants who reported suicidal feelings did not fulfil criteria for these diagnoses nor did they present elevated mean depressive symptom scores. The majority of participants consistently reported no experience of suicidal feelings over multiple examination times, but fluctuation was more common in women compared with men. Conclusion Suicidal feelings in late-life are uncommon in individuals without depression indicating that such behaviour is not a widespread, normative phenomenon. However, such feelings may occur outside the context of depression.

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Results from this population study suggest an association between anxiety and suicidal feelings in older adults. The role of anxiety and depression symptoms needs further clarification in the study of suicidal behavior in late life.

Objectives: To investigate psychoactive medication use and risk of suicide in longterm care facility (LTCF) residents aged 75 and above. A second aim was to investigate the role of psychiatric and medical conditions in the occurrence of suicide in LTCF residents.Methods: A Swedish national register-based cohort study of LTFC residents aged

Background Octogenarians of today are better educated, and physically and cognitively healthier, than earlier born cohorts. Less is known about time trends in mental health in this age group. We aimed to study time trends in the prevalence of depression and psychotropic drug use among Swedish 85-year-olds. Methods We derived data from interviews with 85-year-olds in 1986–1987 (N = 348), 2008–2010 (N = 433) and 2015–17 (N = 321). Depression diagnoses were made according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Symptom burden was assessed with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Information on psychotropic drug use, sociodemographic, and health-related factors were collected during the interviews. Results The prevalence of major depression was lower in 2015–2017 (4.7%, p < 0.001) and 2008–2010 (6.9%, p = 0.010) compared to 1986–1987 (12.4%). The prevalence of minor depression was lower in 2015–2017 (8.1%) compared to 2008–2010 (16.2%, p = 0.001) and 1986–1987 (17.8%, p < 0.001). Mean MADRS score decreased from 8.0 in 1986–1987 to 6.5 in 2008–2010, and 5.1 in 2015–2017 (p < 0.001). The reduced prevalence of depression was not explained by changes in sociodemographic and health-related risk factors for depression. While psychoactive drug use was observed in a third of the participants in each cohort, drug type changed over time (increased use of antidepressants and decreased use of anxiolytics and antipsychotics). Conclusions The prevalence of depression in octogenarians has declined during the past decades. The decline was not explained by changes in known risk factors for depression. The present study cannot answer whether changed prescription patterns of psychoactive drugs have contributed to the decline.