Sertraline in the treatment of minor depression in nursing home residents:A pilot study

'Minor' depression affects up to 50% of residents in long-term care facilit ies and is associated with considerable discomfort, disability and risk of morbidity. Despite the prevalence of this problem, few studies addressing t he treatment of these patients have been conducted. In an open clinical tri al, 12 nursing home residents who met the DSM-IV description for minor depr essive disorder were treated with sertraline for 6 weeks. Adverse effects a nd clinical response were monitored. All residents tolerated their medicati on without any significant side-effects. At the completion of the study, th e Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Global Assessment Scale change score s both indicated significant;improvement and 75% of the residents met crite ria for 'remission'. This preliminary study provides evidence that nursing home residents with minor depression tolerated treatment with sertraline an d improved clinically. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.