Age or age of onset: which is the best criterion to classify late-life depression?

ABSTRACT: In late-life depression (LLD), several differences between patients whose first episode is reported after age 65 (late-onset depression, LOD) and those with early-onset depression (EOD) might reflect the effects of brain ageing. To test this hypothesis, we analysed the impact of current age and age at illness onset on a number of clinical and cognitive manifestations in 438 outpatients with major depressive disorder aged >60 years, treated with venlafaxine for 12 weeks. When compared to the EOD group, patients with LOD were older ( P  < 0.00001) and associated with lower depression severity ( P  = 0.0029), lower global cognitive functioning [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE): P  = 0.0001; Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status: immediate memory, P  = 0.0009,

SUBMITTER: Olgiati P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10234317 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature