The posttreatment illness course of depression in bereaved elders. High relapse/recurrence rates

Losing close attachments through death in late life is common and can lead to depression. Previous work has shown the clinical benefits of treating these depressions. This article describes the 2-year course of 53 elderly subjects with bereavement-related depression after responding to various treatments. Forty-six patients experienced a full response to acute treatment, but 36% experienced relapse or recurrence. This finding suggests that the treatment response in depressed bereaved older patients is more brittle than expected.