Outcomes of Late-Life Depression (Clinical and Follow-Up Study)

Abstract

Background: currently the relevance of the problem of late depression and the study of their outcomes is determined by the increase in their prevalence, difficulties in diagnosis and therapy.Objective: to study the outcomes of depression during a 3-year follow-up. This publication contains a clinical description of the study cohort of patients with late-life depression.Patients and methods: a cohort of patients with depressive disorders who were treated in the gerontopsychiatric hospital of the FSBSI MHRC, followed up and re-examined 1 and 3 years after the discharge. The study sample at the time of inclusion made up 55 people aged 60 years and older: 17 men (30.91%) and 38 women (69.09%). The median age was 68 years [63; 76]. According to the ICD-10 classification, all patients were diagnosed with a depressive episode: 37 people (67.27%) had a depressive phase within recurrent depressive disorder (DDR — F33), 16 people (29.1%) had a depressive phase within bipolar affective disorder (BD — F31) and a single depressive episode (DE — F32) — in 2 patients (3.63%). All patients were examined using clinical, psychometric, immunological and follow-up methods (follow-up assessment was carried out after 1 year and 3 years). The favorable course was attributed to the formation of complete remissions or the recurrence of depression against the background of complete remission during the period of follow-up. An unfavorable option is the recurrence of depression against the background of incomplete remission, chronification of depression, the outcome of dementia and death.Results and conclusion: a comparative study of the short-term (1 year) and remote (3 years) outcomes of depression showed in both cases a predominance of unfavorable cases of the course of the disease (52.9 and 54.9%, respectively). One year after 27 patients (52.9%) had incomplete remission with residual depressive disorders, and in 3 years follow-up 20 people (39.2%) had incomplete remission and 8 people (15.7%) had chronic depression. With the same frequency (three patients each; 5.9%), the outcome in dementia was observed, and 3 patients (5.9%) died. All cases of dementia and death were registered in the group of patients with an unfavorable course of the disease. This publication contains a clinical description of the study cohort of patients with late-life depression. The next communication will content the results of clinical and immunological comparison to search some predictive features in different types of depression outcome in aged.