Abstract
Depression in older people often presents with atypical symptoms. In the elderly, depression is frequently associated with physical and cognitive impairment. Compared with younger patients, older patients experiencing a depressive episode often show predominantly somatic symptoms. They frequently mislead physicians to concentrate initially on patients’ organic symptoms in particular if the patient has no history of psychiatric disorders.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alexopoulos GS (2005) Depression in the elderly. Lancet 365:1961–1970
Alexopoulos GS, Katz IR, Reynolds CF 3rd, Carpenter D, Docherty JP (2001) The expert consensus guideline series. Pharmacotherapy of depressive disorders in older patients. Postgrad Med Spec No Pharmacotherapy :1–86
Alexopoulos GS, Borson S, Cuthbert BN (2002) Assessment of late life depression. Biol Psychiatry 52:164–174
Alvarez PA, Pahissa J (2010) QT alterations in psychopharmacology: proven candidates and suspects. Curr Drug Saf 5:97–104
American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC
Bauer M, Bschor T, Pfennig A et al (2007) World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders in primary care. World J Biol Psychiatry 8:67–104
Bauer M, El-Khalili N, Datto C, Szamosi J, Eriksson H (2010) A pooled analysis of two randomised, placebo-controlled studies of extended release quetiapine fumarate adjunctive to antidepressant therapy in patients with major depressive disorder. J Affect Disord 127:19–30
Bergman J, Miodownik C, Palatnik A, Lerner V (2011) Efficacy of bupropion XR in treatment-resistant elderly patients: a case series study. Clin Neuropharmacol 34:17–20
Bondareff W, Alpert M, Friedhoff AJ et al (2000) Comparison of sertraline and nortriptyline in the treatment of major depressive disorder in late life. Am J Psychiatry 157:729–736
Cipriani A, Furukawa TA, Salanti G et al (2009) Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 12 new-generation antidepressants: a multiple-treatments meta-analysis. Lancet 373:746–758
Coupland C, Dhiman P, Morriss R, Arthur A, Barton G, Hippisley-Cox J (2011) Antidepressant use and risk of adverse outcomes in older people: population based cohort study. BMJ 343:d4551. doi:10.1136/bmj.d4551
Eyding D, Lelgemann M, Grouven U et al (2010) Reboxetine for acute treatment of major depression: systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished placebo and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor controlled trials. BMJ 341:c4737
Goodman WK (2011) Electroconvulsive therapy in the spotlight. N Engl J Med 364:1785–1787
Gribbin J, Hubbard R, Gladman J, Smith C, Lewis S (2011) Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressants and the risk of falls in older people: case–control and case-series analysis of a large UK primary care database. Drugs Aging 28:895–902
Hausner L, Damian M, Sartorius A, Frölich L (2011) Efficacy and cognitive side effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depressed elderly inpatients with coexisting mild cognitive impairment or dementia. J Clin Psychiatry 72:91–97
Hawton K, van Heeringen K (2009) Suicide. Lancet 373:1372–1381
Heok KE, Ho R (2008) The many faces of geriatric depression. Curr Opin Psychiatry 21:540–545
Howland RH (2011) A benefit-risk assessment of agomelatine in the treatment of major depression. Drug Saf 34:709–731
Jalenques I, Legrand G, Vaille-Perret E, Tourtauchaux R, Galland F (2010) Efficacité et tolérance de la stimulation magnétique transcrânienne (SMTr) dans le traitement des dépressions chez le sujet âgé: revue de la littérature. Encéphale 36(Suppl 2):D105–D118
Kirsch I, Deacon BJ, Huedo-Medina TB et al (2008) Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: a meta-analysis of data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. PLoS Med 5:e45
Kok RM, Heeren TJ, Nolen WA (2011) Continuing treatment of depression in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis of double-blinded randomized controlled trials with antidepressants. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 19:249–255
Meeks TW, Vahia IV, Lavretsky H, Kulkarni G, Jeste DV (2011) A tune in “a minor” can “b major”: a review of epidemiology, illness course, and public health implications of subthreshold depression in older adults. J Affect Disord 129:126–142
Mottram P, Wilson K, Strobl J (2006) Antidepressants for the elderly. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 1:CD003491
Pinquart M, Duberstein PR, Lyness JM (2006) Treatments for later-life depressive conditions: a meta-analytic comparison of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Am J Psychiatry 163:1493–1501
Pinquart M, Duberstein PR, Lyness JM (2007) Effects of psychotherapy and other behavioral interventions on clinically depressed older adults: a meta-analysis. Aging Ment Health 11:645–657
Raskin J, Wiltse CG, Siegal A, Sheikh J, Xu J, Dinkel JJ, Rotz BT, Mohs RC (2007) Efficacy of duloxetine on cognition, depression, and pain in elderly patients with major depressive disorder: an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Am J Psychiatry 164:900–909
Rodda J, Walker Z, Carter J (2011) Depression in older adults. BMJ 343:d5219
Szegedi A, Jansen WT, van Willigenburg AP et al (2009) Early improvement in the first 2 weeks as a predictor of treatment outcome in patients with major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis including 6,562 patients. J Clin Psychiatry 70:344–353
Tess AV, Smetana GW (2009) Medical evaluation of patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy. N Engl J Med 360:1437–1444
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Wien
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schwarz, S., Frölich, L. (2013). Depression. In: Wehling, M. (eds) Drug Therapy for the Elderly. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0912-0_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0912-0_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-0911-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-0912-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)