Associations between age and the course of major depressive disorder: a 2-year longitudinal cohort study

Publication date: July 2018Source: The Lancet Psychiatry, Volume 5, Issue 7Author(s): Roxanne Schaakxs, Hannie C Comijs, Femke Lamers, Rob M Kok, Aartjan T F Beekman, Brenda W J H PenninxSummaryBackgroundAlthough there is some evidence that older people might have a poorer course of major depressive disorder (MDD) than younger or middle-aged people, and that age-related course differences might affect the optimisation of MDD treatment, large-scale studies with a broad age range, including consistent course assessments, are needed to properly address this issue. Therefore, we aimed to longitudinally examine whether older age was associated with a poorer naturalistic course trajectory of MDD than that of younger ages and to establish which prognostic—clinical, social, and health—factors could explain this potentially poorer course.MethodsFor this longitudinal cohort study, we used baseline and 2-year follow-up data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) and the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons (NESDO) cohorts. People aged between 18 and 88 years, with an MDD diagnosis at baseline, and a valid clinical assessment at 2-year follow-up were included. The primary outcome was the 2-year course of MDD, which was assessed by use of four indicators: having a depression diagnosis (MDD or dysthymia) after 2 years, having a chronic symptom course (depressive symptoms present during 80% or more of the 2-year follow-up period), time to remission, and...
Source: The Lancet Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research