TY - JOUR

T1 - Incidence of late-life depression

T2 - A systematic review

AU - Büchtemann, Dorothea

AU - Luppa, Melanie

AU - Bramesfeld, Anke

AU - Riedel-Heller, Steffi

PY - 2012/12/15

Y1 - 2012/12/15

N2 - Background: In the past years, many studies have examined the prevalence of late-life depression. However, incidence studies, especially those including the oldest age groups, remained rare. The objective of this article is therefore to provide a systematic review on incidence of depressive disorders in latest life. Methods: A systematic search of the literature published between 1985 and 2011 was conducted using MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycInfo and Cochrane databases. Inclusion criteria were: incidence specified for persons aged≥70 years at baseline, population-based sample or primary care sample. Incidence rates or risks were extracted or calculated. Results: We found 20 studies reporting incidence according to categorical (n=14) or dimensional diagnoses (n=6). The incidence of depressive disorders varied considerably. Major Depression (MD) was found to occur less often than Minor Depression (MinD), whereas clinically relevant depressive symptoms are at least as frequent as MinD. The incidence rate of MD was 0.2-14.1/100 person-years, and incidence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms was 6.8/100 person-years. Female incidence was mostly higher than male. Associations between age and incidence revealed to be rather inconsistent between studies. Limitations: Methodological diversity of the studies concerning diagnostics, data collection methods, incidence definitions and sampling make the results difficult to interprete. Conclusions: This review is the first to have focused on incidence studies on depression in latest life. The frequent occurrence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms will have to be considered in future health care planning. Physical health and psychosocial influences appear to be key variables in depression prevention.

AB - Background: In the past years, many studies have examined the prevalence of late-life depression. However, incidence studies, especially those including the oldest age groups, remained rare. The objective of this article is therefore to provide a systematic review on incidence of depressive disorders in latest life. Methods: A systematic search of the literature published between 1985 and 2011 was conducted using MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycInfo and Cochrane databases. Inclusion criteria were: incidence specified for persons aged≥70 years at baseline, population-based sample or primary care sample. Incidence rates or risks were extracted or calculated. Results: We found 20 studies reporting incidence according to categorical (n=14) or dimensional diagnoses (n=6). The incidence of depressive disorders varied considerably. Major Depression (MD) was found to occur less often than Minor Depression (MinD), whereas clinically relevant depressive symptoms are at least as frequent as MinD. The incidence rate of MD was 0.2-14.1/100 person-years, and incidence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms was 6.8/100 person-years. Female incidence was mostly higher than male. Associations between age and incidence revealed to be rather inconsistent between studies. Limitations: Methodological diversity of the studies concerning diagnostics, data collection methods, incidence definitions and sampling make the results difficult to interprete. Conclusions: This review is the first to have focused on incidence studies on depression in latest life. The frequent occurrence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms will have to be considered in future health care planning. Physical health and psychosocial influences appear to be key variables in depression prevention.

KW - Health sciences

KW - depression

KW - Epidemiology

KW - Incidence

KW - Old age

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84868159869&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2012.05.010

DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2012.05.010

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 22940498

AN - SCOPUS:84868159869

VL - 142

SP - 172

EP - 179

JO - Journal of Affective Disorders

JF - Journal of Affective Disorders

SN - 0165-0327

IS - 1-3

ER -