%0 Journal Article
%T Unipolar late-onset depression: A comprehensive review
%A Konstantinos N Fountoulakis
%A Ruth O'Hara
%A Apostolos Iacovides
%A Christopher P Camilleri
%A Stergios Kaprinis
%A George Kaprinis
%A Jerome Yesavage
%J Annals of General Psychiatry
%D 2003
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2832-2-11
%X The authors reviewed several pages and books relevent to the subject but did not search the entire literature because of it's overwhelming size. They chose to review those considered most significant.The prevalence of major depression is estimated to be 2% in the general population over 65 years of age. The clinical picture of geriatric depression differs in many aspects from depression in younger patients. It is not yet clear whether it also varies across cultures and different socio-economic backgrounds. Biological data suggest that it is associated with an increased severity of subcortical vascular disease and greater impairment of cognitive performance. Many authors consider the existence of a somatic disorder to be related to the presence of depression in late life, even constituting a negative prognostic factor for the outcome of depression. Most studies support the opinion that geriatric depression carries a poorer prognosis than depression in younger patients. The therapeutic intervention includes pharmacotherapy, mainly with antidepressants, which is of established value and psychotherapy which is not equally validated.A significant number of questions regarding the assessment and treatment of geriatric depression remain unanswered, empirical data are limited, and further research is necessary.As the older population increases so also does the number of older psychiatric patients. Elderly psychiatric patients manifest certain specific and unique characteristics. Yet most psychiatrists are trained to diagnose and treat young patients with 'functional' disorders. Thus, they may find it difficult to evaluate a typical elderly patient whose clinical picture is not exactly in accord with the modern classification systems DSM-IV and ICD-10. The problem of poor recognition of geriatric depression by physicians and nursing staff is well described, and it is suggested that less than half of hospitalised patients with depression in general medical practice are referr
%K Depression
%K psychogeriatrics
%K late-life
%K SSRI's
%K TCA's
%K psychotherapy
%U http://www.annals-general-psychiatry.com/content/2/1/11