DOES THE DEPRESSION INCREASE THE RISK OF DEATH FOR NONVIOLENT CAUSES

Studies of the effect of depression on life expectancy have found cont roversial results. In the past, an excess mortality was attributed to conditions seen at psychiatric institutions. More recently, in additio n to an excess mortality due to violent causes of death, some studies also found excess mortality due to non-violent and all-cause mortality . Hospital studies that evaluated this relationship are generally flaw ed and lack of control for potential confounders. Underlying physical illnesses could explain the excess mortality reported On the other han d, community-based studies have studied small number of depressed subj ects, and have used diverse measurements of depression which hamper co mparability. This paper critically reviews recent published studies an d discussess posible mechanisms for this association.