Elderly people report less depressed mood. There is a high rate of anxiety in elderly patients with major depressive disorders compared with younger depressive patients. The high coexistence of anxiety and depression in the elderly suggests that depression is part of a depression-anxiety syndrome.
Is depression more common in the elderly than in younger adults?
Depression is less prevalent among older adults than among younger adults but can have serious consequences. Over half of cases represent a first onset in later life. Although suicide rates in the elderly are declining, they are still higher than in younger adults and more closely associated with depression.
How does depression vary with age?
The percentage of adults who experienced any symptoms of depression was highest among those aged 18–29 (21.0%), followed by those aged 45–64 (18.4%) and 65 and over (18.4%), and lastly, by those aged 30–44 (16.8%). Women were more likely than men to experience mild, moderate, or severe symptoms of depression.
What are the signs and symptoms of depression in older adults except?
- Sadness or feelings of despair.
- Unexplained or aggravated aches and pains.
- Loss of interest in socializing or hobbies.
- Weight loss or loss of appetite.
- Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness.
- Lack of motivation and energy.
What is the most common cause of depression in older adults?
The death of friends, family members, and pets, or the loss of a spouse or partner are common causes of depression in older adults.
Does depression age your face?
For starters, when people are depressed, they may end up tensing specific facial muscles, grimacing or frowning, and these “negative facial expressions can become sort of etched into the skin in the form of fine lines and wrinkles,” Day explains.
What is the number one cause of depression?
Research suggests that continuing difficulties – long-term unemployment, living in an abusive or uncaring relationship , long-term isolation or loneliness, prolonged work stress – are more likely to cause depression than recent life stresses.
What is the most effective treatment for depression in older adults?
Research also suggests that for older adults, psychotherapy is just as likely to be an effective first treatment for depression as taking an antidepressant. Some older adults prefer to get counseling or psychotherapy for depression rather than add more medications to those they are already taking for other conditions.
What actually causes depression?
Research suggests that continuing difficulties – long-term unemployment, living in an abusive or uncaring relationship , long-term isolation or loneliness, prolonged work stress – are more likely to cause depression than recent life stresses.
How do you know when an elderly person is giving up?
- abnormal breathing and longer space between breaths (Cheyne-Stokes breathing)
- noisy breathing.
- glassy eyes.
- cold extremities.
- purple, gray, pale, or blotchy skin on knees, feet, and hands.
- weak pulse.
- changes in consciousness, sudden outbursts, unresponsiveness.
What percentage of older adults have depression?
The good news is that the majority of older adults are not depressed. Some estimates of major depression in older people living in the community range from less than 1% to about 5% but rise to 13.5% in those who require home healthcare and to 11.5% in older hospitalized patients.
What is considered old age for a woman?
When are we considered old? For women, the old age threshold is about 73 ; for men, 70.
Why is depression overlooked in older persons?
Symptoms are often overlooked and untreated because they co-occur with other problems encountered by older adults . Older people with depressive symptoms have poorer functioning compared to those with chronic medical conditions such as lung disease, hypertension or diabetes.
Can depression change your face?
Wu. Long-term depression has disastrous effects on skin, because the chemicals associated with the condition can prevent your body from repairing inflammation in cells. “These hormones affect sleep, which will show on our faces in the form of baggy, puffy eyes and a dull or lifeless complexion,” says Dr. Wechsler.
Does depression age your brain?
New research out of Yale University shows depression can physically change a person’s brain , hastening an aging effect that might leave them more susceptible to illnesses associated with old age.
Does being depressed make you look old?
Depression can make us physically older by speeding up the ageing process in our cells, according to a study. Lab tests showed cells looked biologically older in people who were severely depressed or who had been in the past.
