Depression in the elderly

Morten Birket-Smith, psychiatrist

You are at risk of developing depression for the first time at any point in your life. But the older you are the greater the risk is for developing depression. The course of the depression is often more serious in the elderly. Depression in the elderly is furthermore often triggered by and combined with physical disease (for instance the flu or another disease) or social events such as small changes in their everyday life or greater strains such as bereavement, hospitalization, change of accommodation or placement in a nursing home.

In the elderly, it isn't necessarily sadness and a depressed mood that are the most prominent symptoms of their depression. Instead it might be tiredness, anxiety, irritability and a lack of zest for life. You may if anything feel more tormented than actually depressed.

Elderly people with depression often complain about the same problems again and again. It may be about their health problems or about things that others regard as trivial matters. This can mean that the depression may not be discovered, because the people around then regard the elderly as neurotic and hysterical.

Similarly to when younger people develop depression, the elderly get memory and concentration impairments. This means that depression in the elderly can be mistaken for dementia, which of course also causes an impaired memory.