Impact of close family members on older adults' early response to depression treatment.
This study of 130 depressed older adults and their spouses or adult children examined the impact of caregiver burden specific to patients' depressive symptoms on patients' response to antidepressant treatment. Primary care patients completed medical, psychiatric, and neuropsychological assessments prior to treatment, and interviews were conducted with their identified family member. As hypothesized, caregivers' depression-specific burden predicted greater depression severity for the patient at the 6th week of treatment after accounting for patients' pretreatment characteristics, caregivers' depressive symptoms, and caregivers' relationship satisfaction. Future research may identify family attitudes and behaviors that stem from burden and compromise older adults' ability to recover from depression.
Martire
Lynn M
LM
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. martire@pitt.edu
Schulz
Richard
R
Reynolds
Charles F
CF
Morse
Jennifer Q
JQ
Butters
Meryl A
MA
Hinrichsen
Gregory A
GA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D015283:Citalopram / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012944:Social Support; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D015283:Citalopram