Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression in Older Community-Dwelling Adults: 1992-2005

Abstract

Overall diagnosis and treatment rates increased over time. Antidepressants are assuming a more-prominent and psychotherapy a less-prominent role. These shifts are most pronounced in groups with less-severe depression, in whom evidence of efficacy of treatment with antidepressants alone is less clear.

Treatment satisfaction, perceived treatment effectiveness, and dropout among older users of mental health services

“…Therefore, it is not possible to comment on the types of treatment that older adults found the most effective and satisfying, or which treatments were more likely to result in drop out. This is particularly relevant given recent findings of an increasing trend toward greater use of pharmacotherapy as treatment for depression in older adults and reduced use of psychotherapy (Akincigil et al, 2011).…”

The Use of Antidepressants in Belgian Nursing Homes

“…Depression is often reported to be under-recognised and undertreated in older adults [3,7] . However, the use of antidepressants (ADs) increased over the last decade [8] and this trend was also visible in the nursing home population [9,10] .…”

“…Drug utilisation 8 studies that evaluate the indication and dosages of these medications are scarce [24][25][26] . In these studies, indication analysis is mostly done by linking clinical diagnoses (ICD-9 or DSM IV) and medication databases.…”

Senior Citizens Expressing Acute Mental Symptoms: Urgent Need for Support and Treatment is Not Identified in the Community

“…Among the population older than 65 years, the prevalence of memory symptoms is on average 5-9% and among older people above 85 more than 25% (Lobo et al, 2000;Ferri et al, 2005). Dementia is an important factor, but mental symptoms of senior citizens are multi-factorial, and symptoms occur also without dementia (Akincigil et al, 2011). The prevalence of depression as a mental disorder is high among older citizens who do not have memory diseases.…”