title: Depressive symptoms and nine-year survival of 1,001 male veterans hospitalized with medical illness.
abstract: Authors examined effects of depressive symptoms on after-discharge survival of hospitalized medically ill male veterans. Psychosocial and physical health evaluations were performed on a consecutive sample of 1,001 patients ages 20-39 (16%) and 65-102 years (84%). Subjects or surviving family members were later contacted by telephone, and Cox proportional-hazards regression modeled the effects of depressive symptoms on time-to-death, controlling for demographics and social, psychiatric, and physical health. Follow-up was obtained on all 1,001 patients (average observation time, 9 years), during which 667 patients died (67%). Patients with depressive symptoms were significantly less likely to survive. For every 1-point increase on the 12-item Brief Carroll Depression Rating Scale (BCDRS), the hazard of dying increased by 10% (P<0. 0001). Age did not significantly affect the association between depressive symptoms and mortality. Depressive symptoms during acute hospitalization are a predictor of shortened survival.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014728:Veterans