Depression in Assisted Living

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- In the year 2000, about one in eight Americans was over 65. By the year 2030, that number is expected to jump to one in five. With this many older adults, a growing number will find themselves in assisted living facilities. A new study shows these homes need to work harder to detect and treat depression among their residents.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied the issue of depression among assisted living facility residents. They report their findings in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. The authors started the study with three goals -- to describe the prevalence of depression, to identify characteristics associated with depression, and to examine the relationship between depression and the rate of nursing home placement and mortality.

Researchers, under the leadership of Lea Watson, M.D., MPH, studied more than 2,000 residents age 65 and older from 193 assisted-living facilities in four states. The residents were tested to determine their degree of depression based on a standard test known as the Cornell Scale for Depression and Dementia. The findings show 13 percent of residents were considered depressed. Of those, only 18 percent were on antidepressants. More than one third of the residents showed signs of depression such as anxiety, rumination and worry. Another 25 percent displayed a sad voice, a sad expression, or tearfulness. Researchers found residents who were depressed were moved into nursing homes at a rate of 1.5 times that of nondepressed residents. There was also a higher mortality rate among depressed residents.

Based on their findings, Dr. Watson and colleagues conclude that greater efforts need to be made to detect and treat depression in assisted-living facilities. This, they anticipate, will reduce suffering and prolong the residents’ ability to stay in assisted living rather than moving to a nursing home.

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SOURCE: American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2003,11:534-542