[Treatment of depression in the elderly]

Rev Prat. 2004 Apr 15;54(7):734-8.
[Article in French]

Abstract

Depression is the most common mental health problem of later life. There is effective treatments for depression in primary care. Recommendation based on current evidence are: in primary care treatment there is no evidence that one class of antidepressant is anymore effective than others; although newer antidepressants are not more effective than older ones, they are better tolerated in healthy older people and in patients with medical co-morbidity and are safer especially in overdose. Lower dose antidepressant treatment is not recommended for older depressed patients.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Antidepressive Agents / classification
  • Antidepressive Agents / pharmacology
  • Antidepressive Agents / therapeutic use
  • Comorbidity
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Depressive Disorder / therapy*
  • Evidence-Based Medicine
  • Humans
  • Patient Selection
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • Primary Health Care / methods
  • Primary Health Care / standards
  • Safety
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents