ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE OF MAJOR DEPRESSION AND BIPOLAR DISORDER IN LATER LIFE As the proportion of elderly persons grows, concerns about geriatric mental health become increasingly more pertinent to public health. In the year 2000, unipolar depression was the fourth leading contributor to the global burden of illness-related disability, according to the World Health Organization (1). Moussavi (2) analyzed data from the World Health Organization’s World Health Survey which studied adults, aged 30 years or older, in 60 countries and found the 1-year prevalence of major depression was 3.2%, which is similar to the prevalence of other chronic illnesses such as angina (4.5%), arthritis (4.1%), asthma (3.3%), and diabetes (2%). Furthermore, those who had chronic physical diseases were more likely to have comorbid depression and those with depression and one or more chronic physical diseases had the worst decrement in health compared to angina, arthritis, asthma, and diabetes (2). In the United States, late life depression affects a significant number of community dwelling elders and an even higher number of those residing in long-term care facilities (see Chapter 3).
