Objective: The authors examined elderly patients with major depression to determine the relationship of current age to treatment response course and success rate.
Methods: Three studies of elderly depressed patients provided data on antidepressant treatment response in 323 subjects, treated in protocols using either nortriptyline or paroxetine. We grouped the subjects by current age: 'young-old' (59-69, N=163), 'middle-old' (70-75, N=80), and 'older-old' (76-99, N=80). We employed mixed-effect random regression analyses to examine Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores over 12 weeks of acute treatment.
Results: Older-old patients responded as quickly and successfully as the young- and middle-old.
Conclusions: Major depression in the very old can be treated as successfully as in early old age.