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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Depressive symptoms and depressive episodes in recently widowed older men | | Author(s) | Gerard J A Byrne, Beverley Raphael |
| Journal title | International Psychogeriatrics, vol 11, no 1, March 1999 |
| Pages | pp 67-74 |
| Keywords | Widowers ; Bereavement ; Depression ; Suicide ; Longitudinal surveys ; Australia. |
| Annotation | Older widowers have high rates of completed suicide, but have rarely been the subject of systematic inquiry. This Australian study investigated the prevalence of depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes (MDEs) in 57 recently widowed older men over the first 13 months after bereavement, compared with 57 matched married men identified from the electoral role. Subjects were assessed for the presence of current DSM-III-R MDEs using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Both groups were assessed at 6 weeks (T1) and 13 months (T2). At T1, seven widowers (12.3%) and no married men were found to have CIDI cases of current MDE; and at T2, only one widower (1.9%) and no married men had CIDI cases of current MDE. Current MDE was not predicted by a past history of dysphoria. At T1, 14% (8/57) of widowers reported specific suicidal thoughts or actions; and at T2, 15.4% (8/52). The authors conclude that health workers should monitor closely the clinical course of MDEs in recently widowed older men. Routine inquiry about suicidal ideation should also be an essential component of clinical assessment for this population group. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990728217 A |
| Classmark | SPA: DW: ENR: EV: 3J: 7YA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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