The Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Mortality Among Chinese Elderly: A Hong Kong Cohort Study

Abstract

Depressive symptoms were associated with all-cause mortality in men and with suicide in both sexes. Randomized controlled trials concerning the effects of treatment of depression on mortality are needed to clarify the causal pathways.

Association of detected depression and undetected depressive symptoms with long-term mortality in a cohort of institutionalised older people

“…Indeed, three systematic reviews in the general population (Wulsin et al 1999;Cuijpers et al 2014) and in older people (Schulz et al 2002) cover almost all the available literature on the issue, with compelling evidence of an increased risk of dying linked to depression. In addition, depressive symptoms have also been associated with mortality in community-dwelling elderly (Sun et al 2011;White et al 2015). In residential and nursing homes, some (Rovner et al 1991;O'Connor & Vallerand, 1998;Barca et al 2010;Kane et al 2010;Drageset et al 2013) but not all cohort studies (Cohen-Mansfield et al 1999;Parmelee et al 1992;Cuijpers, 2001;Sutcliffe et al 2007) have found a positive association of depression and depressive symptoms with mortality.…”

The incidence of cancer deaths among hypertensive patients in a large Chinese population: A cohort study

“…The vast majority of all deaths in Hong Kong occurred in the hospitals, and it allows accurate case ascertainment [35]. Death records in hospitals have been utilized as a valid proxy of patient mortality in a number of previous studies, especially for Chinese populations Fig.…”

“…Flow of participants. whose deaths almost always occur in hospitals [35][36][37]. The cause of death for each patient was defined according to the primary cause of mortality for each patient, as determined by the physician-in-charge when death was registered in the death certificate.…”

Depression and mortality in a longitudinal study: 1952–2011

“…Mortality risk over relatively short periods of time could be attributed to unnatural causes of death, including suicide and unintentional injuries -which are demonstrably elevated among individuals with depression. 3,4 In contrast, mortality risk over longer periods of time may be more likely to result from chronic conditions associated with depression. [5][6][7][8] The question of duration is also important, from a clinical perspective: a history of depression is a strong predictor of later recurrence, and according to long-term follow-up studies, as many as one-third of individuals with depression will have a chronic form of the disorder.…”