Depression in the Older Woman

This chapter provides a framework for health professionals to identify and understand depression in the older woman with an emphasis on the non-pharmacological management of depression. Health workers’ expectations and assessments of capacity are often lowered in illness and retirement, with impairment in function being attributed to age and disease rather than depression. The association between aging and depression has aroused much interest recently with community-based studies being carried out across the world; however, reported rates of depression vary widely in the elderly. Depression may be the direct physiologic consequence of a general medical condition or its treatment such as hypothyroidism, vitamin B₁₂ deficiency, substance abuse, or the prescription of a centrally acting medication such as alpha-methyldopa for hypertension. Longitudinal studies suggest that increasing physical activity may prevent the onset of depression. Depression is a chronic disorder and can be viewed in various stages of response or relapse.