explanation Late-life depression has an unfavorable prognosis in terms of a chronic or fluctuating course, comorbidity with somatic diseases and cognitive decline, mortality, impaired well-being, and excess health care utilisation. Late-life depression refers to both major depression and dysthymia with prevalence rates between 2 and 4% and to minor depression with reported prevalence rates between 12 and 15% in community based samples. Prospective studies found that bereavement, insomnia, female gender, loneliness, cognitive impairment, functional limitations and health related variables can be considered risk factors of late-life depression. These variables, however, predict only a small proportion of the course and consequences of late-life depression.
aim To understand the concept and design of the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons (nesdo) and to learn about the symptom profile of late-life depression compared to early-life depression as well as the importance, prevalence and correlates of loneliness, apathy and frailty in late-life depression.