Centre for Policy on Ageing



Depression in late life — review and commentary
Author(s)	Dan G Blazer
Journal title	Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 58A, no 3, March 2003
Pages	pp 249-265
Keywords	Depression ; Literature reviews.
Annotation	Depression is perhaps the most frequent cause of emotional suffering in later life and significantly decreases quality of life in older people. In recent years, the literature on late-life depression has exploded, with many gaps in our understanding of the outcome of late-life depression being filled. Intriguing findings have emerged regarding the aetiology of late-onset depression. The number of studies documenting the evidence base for therapy has increased dramatically. The author considers case definition, and he reviews the current community- and clinic-based epidemiological studies. He considers the outcome of late-life depression, including morbidity and mortality studies. He presents the extant evidence regarding aetiology of depression in late life from a biopsychosocial perspective. Lastly, he presents evidence for the current therapies prescribed for depressed older people, ranging from medications to group therapy. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-030512211 A
Classmark	ENR: 64A
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.