Normal Aging or Depression? A Qualitative Study on the Differences Between Subsyndromal Depression and Depression in Very Old People

Ludvigsson, Mikael; Milberg, Anna; Marcusson, Jan; Wressle, Ewa

doi:10.1093/geront/gnt162

Cited by 28 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…This phenomenon, known as "depression without sadness" or "masked depression" may lead to misdiagnosis (Covinsky et al 2014). A lack of consensus on how to classify subsyndromal depressive symptoms or depressive presentations that are atypical may lead to misindentification of these syndromes (Ludvigsson et al 2014). Furthermore, somatic elements which are prevalent in old age (e.g., physical disability, functional limitations, fatigue, digestive problems, and physical pain) may also cause emotional distress, leading to a clinical picture that, in some ways, resembles a depressive syndrome.…”

Section: Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ageism in Mental Health Assessment and Treatment of Older Adults

Bodner

Palgi

Wyman

2018

International Perspectives on Aging

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Section: Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ageism in Mental Health Assessment and Treatment of Older Adults

Bodner

Palgi

Wyman

2018

International Perspectives on Aging

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“…Groups of older adults with SSD include those evolving into or remitting from major depression, [10, 11] those with a chronic course of SSD that may be accompanied by functional limitations and low perceived social support, [11–13] and others who may experience SSD in the context of natural conditions and psychological and physiological processes in very late life. [13] Thus, the fate of older individuals with SSD may be varied and disease processes underlying the association of SSD and cognitive decline are not well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depressive Symptoms and Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in Cognitively Normal Older Adults

Donovan

Hsu

Dagley

et al. 2015

JAD

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Even low levels of depressive symptoms are associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline in older adults without overt cognitive impairment (CN). Our objective was to examine whether very low, “subthreshold symptoms of depression” (SSD) are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarkers of neurodegeneration in CN adults and whether these associations are specific to particular depressive symptoms. We analyzed data from 248 community-dwelling CN older adults, including measurements of cortical amyloid burden, neurodegeneration markers of hippocampal volume (HV) and cerebral 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) metabolism in a composite of AD-related regions and the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Participants with GDS>10 were excluded. General linear regression models evaluated the cross-sectional relations of GDS to HV or FDG in separate backward elimination models. Predictors included GDS total score, age, sex, premorbid intelligence, a binary amyloid variable and its interaction with GDS. Principal component analyses of GDS item scores revealed three factors (the Dysphoria, Apathy-Anhedonia and Anxiety-Concentration Factors). In secondary analyses, GDS total score was replaced with the three factor scores in repeated models. Higher GDS score (p=0.03) was significantly associated with lower HV and was marginally related (p=0.06) to FDG hypometabolism. In secondary models, higher Dysphoria (p=0.02) and Apathy-Anhedonia (p=0.05) were related to lower HV while higher Apathy-Anhedonia (p=0.003) was the sole factor related to FDG hypometabolism. Amyloid was not a significant predictor in any model. In conclusion, very low-level dysphoria, apathy and anhedonia may point to neurodegeneration in AD-related regions but this association appears to be independent of amyloid burden.

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“…19,20 Recently, several studies examined empirically derived long-term courses of late-life depressive symptoms based on symptom scales [21][22][23][24][25] and found that 3% to 11% of the older population experience chronically high levels of depressive symptoms during ageing. For the latter group, depressive symptoms may be manifestations of physical illness, normal ageing, or neurodegeneration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depressive spectrum states in a population‐based cohort of 70‐year olds followed over 9 years

Sigström

Wærn

Gudmundsson

et al. 2018

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

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In this population-based sample, over half experienced some degree of depression during their eighth decade of life. The findings give some support for the validity of a depressive spectrum in older adults. Most new episodes of major depression occurred in people who were in a depressive spectrum state already at baseline, which may have implications for late-life depression prevention strategies.

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Normal Aging or Depression? A Qualitative Study on the Differences Between Subsyndromal Depression and Depression in Very Old People

Cited by 28 publications

References 45 publications

Ageism in Mental Health Assessment and Treatment of Older Adults

Ageism in Mental Health Assessment and Treatment of Older Adults

Depressive Symptoms and Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in Cognitively Normal Older Adults

Depressive spectrum states in a population‐based cohort of 70‐year olds followed over 9 years

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