Bereavement-related depression in the older adult population: a distinct disorder?

J Affect Disord

Faculty of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil, Canada; Charles LeMoyne Hospital Research Center, Canada. Electronic address:

Published: December 2013

Background: Bereavement is a phenomenon that shares many symptoms with depression, and that a great number of older adults experience following the loss of a close relative. The objectives of the present study were to (1) determine whether the symptoms of depression reported by bereaved individuals differ from those with non-bereavement minor/major depression (NBRD), (2) assess whether BRD is as persistent during a one year follow-up as compared to NBRD, and (3) identify factors and consequences associated with BRD.

Methods: The data used for this study came from the Longitudinal Study ESA (Study Health of Elders), conducted between 2005 and 2008, using a representative sample (n=2811) of community-dwelling older adults, aged 65 and over. To test our hypothesis, an exploratory latent class analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used.

Results: BRD prevalence among older adults suffering from depression was 39%. BRD individuals report all symptoms of depression, but in lower probabilities, and BRD is as persistent as MDD over 12 months, suggesting that it does not differ from NBRD. The principal factors associated with BRD were widowhood and lower level of education. Individuals with BRD are less likely to consult medical services and be dispensed an antidepressant, compared to NBRD.

Limitations: We have to be cautious when generalizing our findings to individuals with major depression alone, since our results included both minor and major depressions in the same group.

Conclusion: No evidence was found that BRD differed from non BRD in terms of depressive symptoms and persistence. The bereavement exclusion criterion in the DSM-IV should be reconsidered.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.08.038DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

symptoms depression
12
older adults
12
brd
8
brd persistent
8
depression
6
bereavement-related depression
4
older
4
depression older
4
older adult
4
adult population
4

Similar Publications

Patients presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the emergency department (ED) require rapid and accurate electrocardiographic (ECG) evaluation. This study aims to assess conventional ECG markers for diagnosing non-ST-elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS) in patients with chest discomfort and right bundle branch block (RBBB). A nested case-control design was employed to compare patients with RBBB admitted to the ED for suspected cardiac ischemia, focusing on those who developed NSTE-ACS versus those who did not.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Benign paroxysmal vertigo (BPV) is a common cause of dizziness, and some patients are comorbid with psychiatric disorders such as depression, requiring intervention with antidepressants. However, the causal association between BPV, depression and antidepressants has not been clearly established. We used two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) to analyze the causal association between BPV, depression, and antidepressants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: As the global population of older adults rises, the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) advocates for disease prevention, management, and enhancing overall wellbeing in older adults. We reviewed the MEDLINE literature under the MeSH term "music therapy" (MT), for its role in promoting healthy ageing.

Methods: A systematic search of the MEDLINE biomedical database (Ovid) was conducted using "MT" and "Ageing" as keywords, retrieving relevant full-text studies in English.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A preliminary exploration of establishing a mice model of hypoxic training.

Sci Rep

January 2025

Institute of Brain Diseases and Cognition, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China.

Altitude training has been widely adopted. This study aimed to establish a mice model to determine the time point for achieving the best endurance at the lowland. C57BL/6 and BALB/c male mice were used to establish a mice model of hypoxic training with normoxic training mice, hypoxic mice, and normoxic mice as controls.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Genetics plays a significant role in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), with approximately 12.6% of cases occurring in familial form. While previous studies have demonstrated differences in disease progression and MRI findings between familial and sporadic MS, there has been no comparison of cognitive impairment between them.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!