Pulling out all the stops: what motivates 65+ year olds with depressive symptoms to participate in an outreaching preference-led intervention programme?

Objectives: Many older adults have significant depressive symptoms but few people access care for these. This study explores which personal, clinical and need factors facilitate or hinder acceptance of a new outreaching preference-led intervention programme.

Methods: From a sample of 9661 community-dwelling 65+ year olds, 244 persons with depressive symptoms according to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were included.

Prevention of late-life anxiety and depression has sustained effects over 24 months: a pragmatic randomized trial.

Objective: Depressive and anxiety disorders in later life have a high incidence and are associated with reduced quality of life. Elsewhere, we demonstrated that a stepped-care prevention approach was successful in halving the incidence of these disorders over a period of 12 months. As a decreasing effect over time is to be expected, our aim was to investigate the longer-term effects.

How effective is bibliotherapy for very old adults with subthreshold depression? A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Depressive symptoms are common among elderly primary care patients, and because they encounter considerable barriers in seeking help and they often resist referral to specialized mental health facilities, it is important to look for easily accessible interventions within the primary care setting. Bibliotherapy, which has been found to be effective among younger populations, might be an attractive option. In this study, the authors investigated the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for depressive symptomatology in very old adults.

Stepped-care prevention of anxiety and depression in late life: a randomized controlled trial.

Context: Given the public health significance of late-life depression and anxiety, and the limited capacity of treatment, there is an urgent need to develop effective strategies to prevent these disorders.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of an indicated stepped-care prevention program for depression and anxiety disorders in the elderly.

Design: Randomized controlled trial with recruitment between October 1, 2004, and October 1, 2005.

Depression in old age (75+), the PIKO study.

Background: Old people (75+) are underrepresented in studies on the prevalence of and risk factors for depression while the number of elderly people suffering from this mood disorder may be considerably higher than previously assumed. The role--if any--of age and gender in 'Geriatric Depression' is still unclear.

Methods: In this community-based study, prevalence of depressive symptomatology and risk indicators were assessed in 2850 participants aged 75 years or more.