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The Symptom Profile and Two-Year Course of Subsyndromal Depression in Spousally Bereaved Elders

Depression Prevention Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.

The authors describe the symptom presentation and clinical course of subsyndromal depression in 20 bereaved elderly persons (mean age = 68.0 years) over a period of 2 years from spousal loss. Clinical ratings on measures of general functioning, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbance, medical burden, social support, and social rhythm stability were contrasted for bereaved subjects with subsyndromal depression, nondepressed bereaved subjects, and control subjects who were neither bereaved nor depressed. Subsyndromally depressed subjects had greater impairment in work and pleasure and more pronounced anxiety. Over follow-up, they showed persistently higher bereavement intensity and were more impaired than nondepressed, bereaved subjects on measures of general functioning, sleep quality, and social support, suggesting that subsyndromally depressed, bereaved persons experience greater functional impairment, worse sleep quality, less perceived interpersonal support, and more intense grieving than non-depressed, bereaved subjects up to 2 years after spousal loss.