Late-Life Depression (LLD) refers to a depressive mood disorder that begins around the age of 60-65. Geriatric depression is different from general adult depression in that it is characterized by abundant physical symptoms (body aches, gastroesophageal reflux, chest tightness, slow speech), deficits in cognitive and executive functions, decreased quality of life, and easy comorbidity with other mental or physical diseases. High risk of disease, death and suicide, and high socioeconomic burden. In Taiwan, elderly patients with depression often complain of discomfort, pain everywhere, numbness in their hands and feet, and feel that life is dull and boring. Some patients go around looking for famous doctors or teachers to solve various physical discomforts,
while others refuse to seek medical treatment and just want to stay at home to rest. Most elderly patients with depression have finicky or uneven eating habits, lack of exercise, physical weakness, disordered work and rest, and sometimes other physical diseases. A small number of elderly patients with depression will abuse sedative and hypnotic drugs number list or have an alcohol use disorder. Many elderly patients with depression are not correctly identified and diagnosed, and their mood and quality of life are affected by elderly depression, which increases the care burden of their families. Clinically, sometimes we see young and middle-aged people quit their stable, high-paying jobs and leave the workplace just to take care of their elders who have health problems and comorbid senile depression.
Prevalence of Depression in the Elderly The prevalence of geriatric depression varies greatly in different studies. About 60% of people over the age of 60 have chronic depression, and the prevalence of those who are severe enough to meet the diagnosis of geriatric depression is about 30 to 45%. (Mild Cognitive Impairment, MCI) the prevalence of its comorbidity is 32%. However, the prevalence rate of clinically diagnosed depression in the elderly is only 6-14%, that is to say, 2/3 of the elderly depression patients may not be found and diagnosed, let alone whether they receive adequate quality treatment and care. This data is consistent with the results of a large community study in the United States in 1995-1996, which showed that only about one-third of older adults with major depressive disorder received antidepressant medication, one-quarter took sedative-hypnotics, and most The patient was not found to have depression, or was found but did not receive treatment.