Trajectories of Depression in Late Life: A 1-Year Follow-Up Study

To investigate the prognosis of depression in late life (DLL) in terms of the course of depression over 1 year and assess clinical factors related to the prognosis.

We performed an observational, multicenter, longitudinal study of 160 patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to inward treatment of DLL. The patients were followed with 3 assessments: at inclusion (T0), at discharge from the hospital (T1), and after 1 year (T2). Growth mixture modeling was applied to identify patient classes following distinct trajectories of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score. Two regression models were estimated to assess clinical factors for the trajectories and for a clinical assessment of the depression course between T1 and T2.

Two trajectory classes were identified: one with higher and one with lower MADRS scores. Not being in remission at T1 and a longer hospital stay were associated with higher odds of being in the trajectory class with more severe depression. Early-onset depression (EOD) was associated with higher odds of being in a group with a poorer clinical course between T1 and T2.

EOD and not being in remission at discharge were important negative prognostic factors for DLL.