Determining the impact of dementia on antidepressant treatment response in older adults

Major depression is a common diagnosis in older individuals. The authors present preliminary findings on the response to sertraline in depressed elderly patients with and without dementia. Previous research on antidepressant treatment in elderly patients suggests that it is effective in treating depression. The authors followed depressed patients with and without dementia. Treatment response was more marked in the subgroup without dementia, but there was no statistically significant difference in response between the two subgroups. Depressed elderly patients with dementia may improve on antidepressant treatment, although treatment response may be less robust than in depressed patients without dementia.