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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 15:438-442, May 2007
© 2007 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Brief Report

Depression and Its Relationship to Function and Medical Status, By Dementia Status, in Nursing Home Admissions

Bruce A. Kaup, M.D., M.P.H., David Loreck, M.D., Ann L. Gruber-Baldini, Ph.D., Pearl German, Sc.D., A. S. Menon, M.D., Ph.D., Sheryl Zimmerman, Ph.D., Lynda Burton, Sc.D., and Jay Magaziner, Ph.D., M.S.Hyg.

From Mental Health Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD (BAK, DL, ASM); Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (ALG, JM); Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (PG, LE); Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and School of Social Work, University of North Carolina (SZ).

Objective: To determine rates of depression by dementia status in a statewide sample of nursing home admissions, and associations with medical comorbidity and physical functioning.

Methods: Trained interviewers obtained information from nursing home residents, staff, significant others, and medical records.

Results: A total of 22.3% were classified depressed in the nondemented status and 23.6% in the demented status. Depression status was significantly associated with more physical dependencies regardless of dementia status. In the nondemented, there was also a significant positive association with number of comorbidities. One interaction, dementia with comorbidity at the highest levels of comorbidity, was significant in looking at association with depression.

Conclusion: There is significant depressive symptomatology in nursing home admissions, which is also associated with difficulty in physical function and with the number of medical comorbidities in the nondemented. Application of the two measures used in this study represents a strategy to assess depression in all nursing home residents.

Key Words: Depression • nursing home • dementia • comorbidity






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