Prognosis of late-onset depression in the elderly: A study from India

Objective: To study the 12-month outcome of late-onset depression in elderl y persons and the predictive factors affecting its outcome. Method: This is a prospective study of 50 patients who had their first major depressive ep isode (according to DSM-III-R) in old age (60 years and above) and attended the psychiatry services of a tertiary care hospital in India. These patien ts were assessed at baseline and after 12 months for clinical outcome. Step wise logistic regression was applied to determine predictive factors for th e clinical outcome. Results: Twenty-eight percent of the patients had recov ered, 30% had partially recovered, 23% had relapsed, 6% had been continuous ly ill, 11% had died, and 6% had comorbid dementia. Factors predicting a go od outcome (full recovery and continuously well for 1 year) were shorter du ration of episode (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 19.15, 95% confidence interva l [CI] 2.12-172.82) and living in joint family system (adjusted OR = 4.88, 95% CI0.80-29.74). Conclusion: Overall, the 12-month outcome was poor in el derly individuals with late-onset depression.