Objective
The association between depressive symptoms and mortality was assessed in a 7-year
longitudinal follow-up of subjects referred for geropsychiatric consultation.
Methods
The medical records of 89 referrals were reviewed. Survival analysis was performed
on subjects stratified by Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and residential status.
Results
Fifty percent of subjects with GDS > 6 (n = 28) died by 19 months versus 54 months
for subjects with GDS < 7 (n = 61) (χ2 = 13.2, df = 1, P < .001). GDS, medical burden, age, and gender were independently associated with
survival.
Conclusions
GDS scores greater than 6 are associated with increased risk of mortality in elders
referred for geropsychiatric consultation.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 10, 2007
Footnotes
This work was supported by the Julia and Vann Buren Parr Professorship in Psychiatry Endowment, San Antonio, TX. There are no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 American Medical Directors Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
