Major Depression In Older Adults

The purpose of this research is to review factors that trigger elderly depression states, their physical and mental health conditions,

Depression is a very prevalent mental disorder that many people have in the world. Depression can be termed as consistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities that result in an impairment in daily functioning. Depression can be characterized by hopelessness, and a pessimistic view of the world. People who suffer with depression should take act immediately in receiving help because they could possibly commit suicide and or poor health outcomes. Many older adults who receive help are more than likely to reduce the severity of depression. Also, older adults that receive help by using evidence based practice from their clinicians

With the older population rapidly increasing in the United States, depression has become a common mental health issue (McDonnall, 2009). Depression is known as a psychiatric disorder that may recur within 3 years in older people. This type of disorder has emotional effects such as loss of interest for activities, irritability, and/or withdrawal from socializing with family and friends. There are also psychosocial factors that correlate with depression in older adults. Examples may include bereavement, prior depression, sleep problems, etc. This paper will display risks factors related to depression, the impact of depression, a treatment option, an evaluative method/technique, and a way to improve depression. The following seven article reviews

Depression is commonly under recognized and overlooked in the elderly, as it is a time period where clinicians tend to focus more on physical problems than emotional

Approximately 6.5 million of the 35 million elderly Americans are affected by depression (Duckworth, 2009). Rarely, however, the first onset of depression is experienced so late in life. Depression in the elderly is closely related to dependency or disability, which in turn causes a great distress for not only the family, but also for the individual. Approximately 15% of community-dwelling elderly show clinically significant depressive symptoms (Blazer, 2003). The rate for women is higher than it is in men,

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “older adults are at an increased risk of depression, because depression is more common in people who have other illnesses, and 80% of older adults have a chronic condition” (CDC, 2017). The CDC also mentions that older adults are often misdiagnosed or undertreated, because the symptoms may be thought to be the cause of something else, or the patient doesn’t understand that treatment would be beneficial and do not seek help.

It has also been suggested that perhaps the under-diagnosis of depression in the older adult population occurs because older adults report depressive symptoms differently than younger adults (Katona, 1996). The lack of intra-psychic awareness, rigid defense mechanisms, and cultural or generational negative attitudes towards psychotherapy causes many older adults to evade those issues typically reported by their younger counterparts, such as mood changes, depersonalization, and suicide ideation. Rather, older adults are more likely to complain about somatic symptoms, insomnia, or lack of appetite.

According to Ruppel, Jenkins, Griffin, & Kizer (2010) people’s judgements about the elderly are tainted because people tend to believe that they are not depressed but rather that they are just old. Depression is also under diagnosed in the elderly due to conjunction of other serious illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Research has shown that when the elderly are properly treated with depression the success rates is as equal as to the younger population. Ruppel, Jenkins, Griffin, & Kizer hypothesis that the severity of the depressive symptoms would be recognized regardless of age, but rather the acknowledgement of those symptoms,

Though less prevalent, it was found by Fiske and colleagues (2009) that older adults are more prone to depression than the younger ones. In fact, most of them who are diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder. Risk factors leading to the development of late life depression likely comprise

After the loss of a loved one, people experience a period of grief that usually includes unpleasant thoughts, emotional distress, and withdrawal from normal daily activities. These unstable emotions can be a sign of depression. Depression can be treated by medication, support, therapy and leisure activities.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects approximately 6.7% of adults age 18 and over in the United States (US) in a given year, as well as rates as the leading cause of disability for ages 15-44 (https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics). Despite consistent advances in psychopharmacology, only about 60-70% of patients respond to psychopharmacological treatment. Of those patients who do not respond, 10-30% display treatment-resistant symptoms paired with problems in their social and occupational functioning, in addition to declines in physical health, suicidal thoughts, and an increased use of health-care

Mental disorders are becoming more prevalent in today's society as people add stress and pressure to their daily lives. The elderly population is not eliminated as a candidate for a disorder just because they may be retired. In fact, mental disorders affect 1 in 5 elderly people. One would think that with disorders being rather prevalent in this age group that there would be an abundance of treatment programs, but this is not the case. Because the diagnosis of an individual's mental state is subjective in nature, many troubled people go untreated regularly (summer 1998). Depression in the elderly population is a common occurrence, yet the diagnosis and treatment seem to slip

Aim: This research is aimed to clarify characteristics of depression in the elderly, in elderly persons with dementia, and elderly persons with advanced dementia by classifying the patterns of dementia and depression into four types through the analysis of their scores of cognitive functions and depressive states.

Depression symptoms in the geriatric population often present as a natural process of aging. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (version IV) lists possible symptoms of depression as changes in appetite, sleep patterns, social withdrawal, complaints of aches and pains, memory and concentration problems, irritability, and anxiety (Guze, 1995). These symptoms could also be viewed as a reaction to the death of a spouse, family member, or friend; the loss of independence through the revocation of a driver's license; or relocating into different living arrangements (Twedell, 2007). This increases the demand for education about geriatric depression so that family members, friends, co-workers, and medical professionals can be

Depression is the leading cause of disability in the united states for people between the ages of