title: Prevalence and natural course of late-life depression in China primary care: a population based study from an urban community.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Primary care is the most promising venue for the management of late-life depression in China. The current study was designed to establish the prevalence of major depressive disorder among older adults in primary care, and to examine the correlates, and the natural course of late-life depression over a year.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 1275 adults aged over 60 years was recruited from a primary care clinic in urban China for screening with PHQ-9, and 262 participants stratified by PHQ-9 score were interviewed to collect the presence of major depressive disorder (MDD), the availability of social support, and physical health and functional status. Participants were followed up for 12 months at 3-month intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The estimated prevalence of MDD was 11.3% with the SCID interview. Increasing age, female gender, and lower educational level, living alone, low support from family, high medical illness burden, and impairment of daily function were significantly associated with MDD in later life. Less than 1% of these patients received treatments. More than 60% of patients with MDD at baseline remained depressed throughout the 12 month follow-up period; and only 3 patients had been treated during the 12-month follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The correlates of late-life depression observed here may not necessarily serve as risk factors guiding the development of future prevention strategies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In an urban Chinese primary care setting, late-life depression was found to be a common condition. Few patients with MDD received treatment for their condition, and the majority remained depressed over the following year.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Zhejiang University, China. csl@zju.edu.cn
authors.forename: Shulin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yeates
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Conwell
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vanorden
authors.forename: Naiji
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Hainan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chiu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D014505:Urban Population