Elderly Depression

Elderly patients who are taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or venlafaxine (Effexor), who are also taking multiple other drugs, may need to have their sodium levels monitored, says the author of a case report appearing in the January-February 2006 issue of <i>General Hospital Psychiatry</i>.

Older patients whose physicians team up with depression care managers are 45 percent less likely to die within a five year time period than those who see a primary care doctor only, says a 2007 study.

Older men with low levels of testosterone in their blood are more likely to be depressed, according to a report in the March 2008 issue of <i>Archives of General Psychiatry</i>.

Older adults with low blood levels of vitamin D and high levels of a hormone secreted by the parathyroid glands may have a higher risk of depression, says a report in the May 2008 issue of <i>Archives of General Psychiatry</i>.

Elderly people in a long-term care facility are more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant and to report feeling depressed than their counterparts living in a home health care setting, according to a study done by social work students at Indiana State University.