Conjugal loss and syndromal depression in a sample of elders aged 70 yearsor older

Objective: The goal of this study was to describe-the association between c onjugal loss and both syndromal depression and depressive symptoms in a pro spective cohort study of people aged 70 years or older. Method: A measure o i syndromal depression, the short form Composite International Diagnostic I nterview (CIDI), and a revised version of the Center for Epidemiologic Stud ies-Depression Scale (CES-D Scale) were administered to a group of 5,449 el ders in a longitudinal cohort study. The authors compared the rates of synd romal depression (CIDI diagnosis) and depressive symptoms (six CES-D Scale symptoms) in married participants and those who lost spouses between the fi rst and second waves of assessment. Results: The rate of syndromal depressi on in the newly bereaved was nearly nine times as high as the rate for marr ied individuals, and the rate of depressive symptoms was nearly four times as high. The percentage of the bereaved respondents who had scores above th reshold on the revised CES-D Scale was higher for those interviewed up to 2 years after loss of a spouse than for married respondents. Age, sex, prior psychiatric history, and the expectedness of the death did not differ betw een depressed and nondepressed newly bereaved subjects. Conclusions: Recent bereavement is a significant risk factor for syndromal depression in the e lderly. Some widows and widowers experienced high levels of depressive symp toms up to 2 years after the loss of their spouses. Neither demographic var iables nor variables concerning the nature of the spouse's death predicted bereavement-related depression.