title: Depression and physical disability outcomes in depressed medically ill hospitalized older adults.
abstract: The authors examined depression/disability outcomes in hospitalized older medical patients during the year after hospital discharge to assess the pattern and rate of changing depression and disability, the causal relationship between these variables, and to identify patients at greatest risk for poor outcomes. A group of 119 medical patients at Duke Hospital were both depressed and disabled; they were followed for a median of 47 weeks after hospital discharge. Time-series analyses showed that depression and disability tended to track together, and most changes occurred within the first 6 months after discharge. Blacks were more likely to remit from depression despite continued disability and less likely to experience continued depression despite decreased disability. Patients with a history of depression were less likely to experience improvement in depression unless disability improved. Number of medical diagnoses and depression severity independently predicted poorer depression outcomes. Certain characteristics of patients during hospitalization predict depression/disability outcomes after discharge.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003289:Convalescence / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000145:classification; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012803:Sick Role; D016896:Treatment Outcome