Depressive Symptoms and Nine-Year Survival of 1,001 Male Veterans Hospitalized With Medical Illness

Abstract

Authors examined effects of depressive symptoms on after-discharge survival of hospitalized medically ill male veterans. Psychosocial and physical health evaluations were performed on a consecutive sample of 1,001 patients ages 20–39 (16%) and 65–102 years (84%). Subjects or surviving family members were later contacted by telephone, and Cox proportional-hazards regression modeled the effects of depressive symptoms on time-to-death, controlling for demographics and social, psychiatric, and physical health. Follow-up was obtained on all 1,001 patients (average observation time, 9 years), during which 667 patients died (67%). Patients with depressive symptoms were significantly less likely to survive. For every 1-point increase on the 12-item Brief Carroll Depression Rating Scale (BCDRS), the hazard of dying increased by 10% (P<0.0001). Age did not significantly affect the association between depressive symptoms and mortality. Depressive symptoms during acute hospitalization are a predictor of shortened survival.