Late-life depression: evidence-based treatment and promising new directions for research and clinical practice

As the population ages, successive cohorts of older adults will experience depressive disorders. Late-life depression (LLD) carries additional risk for suicide, medical comorbidity, disability, and family caregiving burden. Although response and remission rates to pharmacotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy are comparable with those in midlife depression, relapse rates are higher, underscoring the challenge to achieve and maintain wellness. This article reviews the evidence base for LLD treatment options and provides an analysis of treatment options for difficult-to-treat LLD variants (eg, psychotic depression, vascular depression). Treatment algorithms are also reviewed based on predictors of response and promising novel treatment options.