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What Is the Definition of Geriatric Depression?

The difficult changes of lifestyle faced by elderly or geriatric people, such as the death of a loved one or medical problems, can lead to a reliance on family member or a caregiver, and in some cases, on the health care system.

  1. Grief or Depression

    • Grief and depression are often confused, there is no set time scale for grief, which can last for weeks or months, depression is marked as different as it is accompanied by a loss of hope and joy making life seem meaningless.

    Symptoms

    • There are a number of symptoms of geriatric depression which include sadness, fatigue, weight loss, disturbed sleep, an increase in alcohol and drug use, death fixation and suicide attempts.

    Causes

    • As people grow old there are a number of factors that can lead to geriatric depression, which include loneliness and isolation following the death and relocation of friends and relatives, health and financial problems, a lack of purpose in life and the fear of dying.

    Geriatric Depression Scale

    • There are two versions of the geriatric depression scale, a test consisting of yes or no answers to either 15 or 30 questions is administered. In the longer version, a score of 11 or more is representative of a depressed individual, while in the 15 question version, a score of five or more shows depressive signs.

    Depression In America

    • According to research completed by the National Institutes of Health, of the 35 million Americans aged 65 or older, around 2 million show signs of full blown depression.

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