The influence of age, sex and education on the phenomenology of depressive symptoms in a population-based sample aged 75+ years with major depression: the Pietà Study

Late-life depression (LLD) is the most common mental disorder among the elderly, but its clinical features remain unclear, especially among older adults. We sought to investigate if age, sex and education could influence the severity or frequency of LLD symptoms. We evaluated 639 community-dwelling...

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Published in:Aging & mental health 2021-03, Vol.25 (3), p.462-467
Main Authors: da Costa Dias, Filipi Leles, Teixeira, Antônio Lúcio, Guimarães, Henrique Cerqueira, Santos, Ana Paula Borges, Resende, Elisa de Paula França, Machado, João Carlos Barbosa, Barbosa, Maira Tonidandel, Caramelli, Paulo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
age
Dementia
Dementia disorders
Education
Educational attainment
Geriatric psychiatry
Late-life depression
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Older people
Phenomenology
Population studies
Psychiatry
Severity
Sex
Sex education
Sociodemographics
Suicidal ideation
Suicide
Symptoms
Teaching methods
Variables
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Summary:Late-life depression (LLD) is the most common mental disorder among the elderly, but its clinical features remain unclear, especially among older adults. We sought to investigate if age, sex and education could influence the severity or frequency of LLD symptoms. We evaluated 639 community-dwelling individuals aged 75+ years in Caeté (MG), Brazil. We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview to diagnose major depression according to DSM-IV criteria and the GDS-15 to measure depression severity. Excluding 174 individuals diagnosed with dementia, 54 (11.6%) of the remaining 457 individuals were diagnosed with LLD; 77.8% of which were female. On average, these participants were aged 81.0 ± 4.8 years and had 2.7 ± 3.3 years of schooling. Symptom severity was not influenced by sociodemographic variables. Death/suicidal ideation was more frequent among men, while psychomotor disturbance was more present in women (p = 0.04 and p = 0.042). More educated individuals (≥ 4 years) also reported a higher frequency of psychomotor disturbance (p = 0.039). Severity of depressive episode was not influenced by sociodemographic variables. Sex and educational level had a significant impact on symptom profiles.
ISSN:1360-7863
1364-6915
DOI:10.1080/13607863.2019.1698517