Epidemiology of dysphoria and depression in an elderly population.

Abstract

The authors surveyed 997 elderly people living in the community and found that the rate of significant dysphoric symptomatology was 14.7%. Forty-five (4.5%) of these individuals suffered from dysphoric symptoms only, and 37 (3.7%) had symptoms of a major depressive disorder. Eighteen (1.8%) suffered from symptoms of primary depressive disorder and 19 (1.9%) from symptoms of secondary depressive disorder. Sixty-five (6.5%) had depressive symptoms associated with impaired physical health. The frequency of widowhood, impairment in social resources, and impairment in economic resources was greater for individuals with symptoms of a major depressive disorder. The entire sample used psychiatric services at a very low rate.