Change in disability follows inpatient treatment for late life depression

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship bet ween functional disability and improvement in late life depression after ac ute inpatient treatment. DESIGN: The study was a longitudinal assessment of depression and disabilit y. Patients were assessed during an initial inpatient hospitalization and t hen 3 months postdischarge. SETTING: All patients were evaluated initially after admission to one of 71 inpatient psychiatric treatment facilities. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised of 2572 patients older than age 60 who we re relatively cognitively intact and experiencing significant depressive sy mptoms. MEASUREMENTS: Depressive symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depress ion Scale. Disability was measured using the Instrumental Activities of Dai ly Living Scale and the Medical Outcomes SF-36. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms improved in the majority of patients. Moreover , improvement in depressive symptomatology was significantly related to imp rovement in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and to health-r elated quality of life as measured by the SF-36. This relationship was stro ngest among those who initially presented with some disability in IADLs. CONCLUSIONS: This work underscores further the disabling nature of depressi on. Moreover, findings from this study suggest that treatment focused on de pression can lead to significant improvements in both depressive symptoms a nd functional abilities. However, the results also suggest that the relatio nship between depression and disability is complex and that the effect of t reating depression is not the only factor in the reversal of disability.