Older people with depression - a three-year follow-up

The prevalence of depression among older people amounts to 1-5 % at the diagnostic level. Depression in older people may be chronic and is associated with an increased risk of dementia. No longitudinal studies have been conducted of depression in older people in Norway.

We have undertaken a multi-centre longitudinal observation study of 160 patients aged 60 years and above who had been treated for depression in departments of old-age psychiatry at specialist healthcare services in Norway. The patients were followed up on four occasions over a three-year period.

Of the 131 patients who completed the study, 24 (18.3 %) were free from depression and depressive symptoms at the points of follow-up after discharge, while 55 (42.0 % showed depressive symptoms and 51 (38.9 %) had suffered at least one serious relapse or had remained continuously ill with a depressive condition. The proportion of persons with dementia increased from 14 out of 160 (8.8 %) at the start of the study period to 40 out of 131 (30.5 %) after three years.

Older people with depression who have been treated in departments of old-age psychiatry in specialist healthcare services have an unfavourable prognosis regarding the course of their depression and development of dementia over a three-year period.