Memory and Aging Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and the Geriatric Division of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
J Clin Psychiatry. 2009 Dec;70(12):e47. doi: 10.4088/JCP.8001tx20c.
Depression in the elderly contributes to decreased quality of life and increased mortality from both suicide and medical illnesses, yet it remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in these patients. Physicians should be aware of the varying presentations of depression in older adults and differentiate late-life depression from other psychiatric diagnoses. Thorough medical and cognitive assessments are necessary to determine whether late-life depression is due to underlying medical causes and neurologic diagnoses such as Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Depression rating scales, cognitive screening instruments, and structural and functional neuroimaging studies may be implemented as the situation requires. Greater recognition and more aggressive treatment of depression in older patients are needed.
老年人的抑郁会导致生活质量下降，并增加自杀和因医疗疾病而导致的死亡率，然而，在这些患者中，抑郁仍然存在诊断不足和治疗不足的情况。医生应该意识到老年人中抑郁的各种表现形式，并将老年期抑郁与其他精神科诊断区分开来。彻底的医学和认知评估是必要的，以确定老年期抑郁是否是由潜在的医学原因和神经学诊断引起的，如阿尔茨海默病或痴呆症。根据具体情况，可以实施抑郁评定量表、认知筛查工具、结构和功能神经影像学研究。需要更加重视和更积极地治疗老年患者的抑郁。
