Prevalence and gender differences in late-life depression: a population-based study.

Objective: The worldwide phenomenon of an aging population combined with the increasing prevalence of depression in late life are issues that need to be addressed. This study aims to estimate the frequency of depression and subthreshold depression occurring in a sample of cognitively well-functioning, community-dwelling, older Italian adults and to investigate sociodemographic and clinical correlates of depression, exploring gender differences.

Methods: We used a cross-sectional analyses of survivors in a population-based study (the Faenza Project) that included 359 subjects aged 74 years and older (49.

Prevalence and characteristics of mild cognitive impairment in the general population. Data from an Italian population-based study: The Faenza Project.

The aim of this cross-sectional study is to investigate mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using the Mini-Mental State Examination in an Italian cohort (N = 6921; mean age 71.6 ± 7.5; 59.

Vision and hearing impairments are associated with depressive--anxiety syndrome in Italian elderly.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between vision and hearing impairment and depressive-anxiety syndrome in a large population participating in the Faenza Project, Northern Italy.

Method: The study population consisted of 7389 participants not affected by dementia, 4408 (59.7%), of whom were women, mean age ± standard deviation (±SD) 71.

Cognitive impairment after age 60: clinical and social correlates in the Faenza Project.

A total of 7,389 dementia-free elderly (60-102 years old) enrolled in the "Faenza Project" (Northern Italy) were clinically evaluated by nurses and physicians with the aim of detecting the independent and combined association of medical and social factors with cognitive status. Cognitive Impairment No Dementia (CIND) was defined for MMSE scores ≤ 2 standard deviations than the age- and education-corrected mean score obtained by the nondemented persons of the Faenza cohort. Logistic Regression analysis was used to estimate Odds Ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals (OR, 95%CI) for CIND.

Blood homocysteine and risk of depression in the elderly.

We studied whether increased blood homocysteine is a predictor for incident depression in a population-based cohort aged >or=65. A total of 240 men and 217 women were identified at baseline and were assessed 4 years later for depression (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS >or=10 or use of antidepressants). Risk of incident depression was estimated for the highest gender-specific tertile of baseline plasma homocysteine compared to the other tertiles combined in a reference group.