Age at onset in geriatric depression: relationship to clinical variables.
The significance of age at onset of first depressive episode was evaluated in an elderly depressed population. A prospective study of 71 consecutively admitted inpatients with a diagnosis of major unipolar depression examined the relationship between age at onset of illness and several clinical variables. Subjects divided into early-onset (EO) and late-onset (LO) groups, matched for current age, did not significantly differ in terms of symptomatology, cognitive impairment, physical illness, family history or treatment responsivity. These findings do not support a nosologic separation of EO and LO depression in geriatric patients.
Greenwald
B S
BS
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.
Kramer-Ginsberg
E
E
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies