HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ALL ISSUES SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Yaffe, K. Articles by Eng, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yaffe, K. Articles by Eng, C.

Depressive Symptoms and Risk of Mortality in Frail, Community-Living Elderly Persons

Received March 19, 2002; revised September 12, 2002; accepted September 27, 2002. From the University of California, San Francisco, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology (KY), and the Division of Geriatrics (KC, LL, CE); the San Francisco VA Medical Center (KY, EE, KC); and On Lok Senior Health Services, San Francisco, California (CE). Address correspondence to Kristine Yaffe, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, 4150 Clement St., San Francisco, CA 94121. e-mail: kyaffe{at}itsa.ucsf.edu

Objective: Depression and depressive symptoms have been associated with increased rates of mortality in a variety of populations, but have not been studied in frail, community-living elderly persons. The authors determined whether depressive symptoms were associated with mortality in a frail, multi-ethnic cohort. Methods: Authors conducted a prospective study of 250 participants enrolled in a program for patients in the community eligible for nursing home placement, determining the occurrence of depressive symptoms at enrollment and survival after 18 months of follow-up, using Cox proportional-hazards models to determine whether depressive symptoms were independently associated with mortality. Results: At enrollment, 73 of the participants (29%) were judged to have depression. Among depressed participants, 26% died, versus 17% of those with fewer depressive symptoms. After they adjusted for various demographic factors, 18-month mortality was almost 70% higher in those with depressive symptoms than in those with fewer symptoms. Women with more depressive symptoms showed nearly a 2.5-fold increase in risk of mortality than women with fewer symptoms, whereas more depressed men were not at increased risk of mortality compared with less depressed men. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms constitute a risk factor for mortality in frail elderly persons.

Key Words: Frail Elderly • Depression • Mortality

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. A. Miller and R. A. Rosenheck Mental Illness and Use of Home Care Nationally in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, December 1, 2007; 15(12): 1046 - 1056. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Steel, D. A. Geller, T. C. Gamblin, M. C. Olek, and B. I. Carr Depression, Immunity, and Survival in Patients With Hepatobiliary Carcinoma J. Clin. Oncol., June 10, 2007; 25(17): 2397 - 2405. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Bartels and J. Unutzer Special Issue on Mental Health Services Research Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, October 1, 2003; 11(5): 483 - 485. [Full Text] [PDF]