[Grief and depression in advanced age--the significance of losses of close relations in endogenous and neurotic-reactive depressions].

Largely "normal" grief reactions cannot always be easily separated from "pathological" grief reactions and depressive illness. Starting from methodological problems in grief research, 339 patients over 45 years who were treated for endogenous, neurotic or reactive depression and showed signs of pathological grief reaction after former or actual loss of a close-standing person were investigated. Marked sex differences were found. In the investigated patients, the symptom pattern of the pathological grief reactions contained mainly depressive developments, chronification of somatic complaints, phobic symptoms respectively anxious-neurotic developments, releasing of endogenous depressions, lack of grief, retarded grief reactions as well as drug abuse and suicidality. Particularly distressing factors which impede the "work of mourning" are shown in this paper. Finally, therapeutic aspects and fundamental problems and prospects of grief research are discussed.