Women's Health in the News
Depression Raises Seniors' Death Risk
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Study finds its effect equals those of heart disease and diabetes
THURSDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDay News) -- For older patients, depression may be as much a risk factor for death as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, a new U.S. study finds.
"How depression increases death rates is not clear," researcher Dr. Joseph Gallo of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement. "Possibly depression makes people less likely to take care of themselves or acts directly on the immune system in ways we do not completely understand."
Reporting in the September issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, his team studied the two-year health outcomes of 1,226 patients aged 60 and older in more than 20 primary-care practices in New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Of the 1,226 patients, 598 had depression. At the end of two years, 64 of the patients with depression had died.
The study authors said that depression in this group of patients was equal to cardiovascular disease and diabetes in terms of raising death risk.
The study findings suggest the need for better integration of care for older adults with chronic medical and mental health conditions. A better understanding of how an older patient's mental health affects physical well-being can help doctors provide effective, lifesaving treatment.
SOURCE: American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, news release, Sept. 16, 2005
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