A reassessment of the relationship between depression and all-cause mortality in 3,604,005 participants from 293 studies

Causes of death in individuals with lifetime major depression: a comprehensive machine learning analysis from a community-based autopsy center

BACKGROUND

Depression can be associated with increased mortality and morbidity, but no studies have investigated the specific causes of death based on autopsy reports. Autopsy studies can yield valuable and detailed information on pathological ailments or underreported conditions. This study aimed to compare autopsy-confirmed causes of death (CoD) between individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) and matched controls. We also analyzed subgroups within our MDD sample, including late-life depression and recurrent depression. We further investigated whether machine learning (ML) algorithms could distinguish MDD and each subgroup from controls based on their CoD.

METHODS

We conducted a comprehensive analysis of CoD in individuals who died from nontraumatic causes. The diagnosis of lifetime MDD was ascertained based on the DSM-5 criteria using information from a structured interview with a knowledgeable informant. Eleven established ML algorithms were used to differentiate MDD individuals from controls by simultaneously analyzing different disease category groups to account for multiple tests. The McNemar test was further used to compare paired nominal data.

RESULTS

The initial dataset included records of 1,102 individuals, among whom 232 (21.1%) had a lifetime diagnosis of MDD. Each MDD individual was strictly paired with a control non-psychiatric counterpart. In the MDD group, the most common CoD were circulatory (67.2%), respiratory (13.4%), digestive (6.0%), and cancer (5.6%). Despite employing a range of ML models, we could not find distinctive CoD patterns that could reliably distinguish individuals with MDD from individuals in the control group (average accuracy: 50.6%; accuracy range: 39-59%). These findings were consistent even when considering factors within the MDD group, such as late-life or recurrent MDD. When comparing groups with paired nominal tests, no differences were found for circulatory (p=0.450), respiratory (p=0.790), digestive (p=1.000), or cancer (p=0.855) CoD.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis revealed that autopsy-confirmed CoD exhibited remarkable similarity between individuals with depression and their matched controls, underscoring the existing heterogeneity in the literature. Future research should prioritize more severe manifestations of depression and larger sample sizes, particularly in the context of CoD related to cancer.

Association between depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality in Chilean adult population: prospective results from two national health surveys

PURPOSE

Depression is a prevalent disorder with effects beyond mental health. A positive association with mortality has been mostly reported, however, evidence comes from a few high-income countries. This study aims to assess the association between depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality in the Chilean population and assess a potential secular effect in this association.

METHODS

This prospective study used data from the Chilean National Health Survey (CNHS). Data from 3151 and 3749 participants from the 2003 and 2010 CNHS, respectively, were linked to mortality register data. Cox survival analysis was performed. The main exposure was depressive symptoms, measured with CIDI-SF (cut-off ≥ 5), and the outcome all-cause mortality. The study period was limited to 8.5 years to allow for the same length of follow-up.

RESULTS

10% and 8.5% of participants from the 2003 and 2010 cohort died during the follow-up. Adjusting for age and sex, those with depressive symptoms had 1.58 (95% CI 1.18-2.13) and 1.65 (95% CI 1.14-2.12) times the risk to die than those without symptoms in the 2003 and 2010 cohort, respectively. In models adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, behavioural variables and comorbidities, participants with depressive symptoms had 1.42 (95% CI 1.05-1.92) and 1.46 (95% CI 1.07-- 1.99) times the risk to die compared to those without symptoms in the 2003 and 2010 cohort, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Chilean adults with depressive symptoms are at higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to those without symptoms. The effect size was similar regardless of the economic development of the country.

Depressive symptoms and smoking: Effect on mortality in a primary care cohort

OBJECTIVE

Depressive symptoms have been suggested to increase mortality risk but causality remains unproven. Depressive symptoms increase likelihood of smoking which is thus a potential factor modifying the effect of depressive symptoms on mortality. This study aims to assess if the association of depressive symptoms and all-cause mortality is affected by smoking.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study in Finnish primary care setting was conducted among 2557 middle-aged cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk persons identified in a population survey. Baseline depressive symptoms were assessed by Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) and current smoking by self-report. Data on mortality was obtained from the official statistics. Effect of depressive symptoms and smoking on all-cause mortality after 14-year follow-up was estimated.

RESULTS

Compared to non-depressive non-smokers, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality was 3.10 (95% CI 2.02 to 4.73) and 1.60 (95% CI 1.15 to 2.22) among smoking subjects with and without depressive symptoms, respectively. Compared to the general population, relative survival was higher among non-depressive non-smokers and lower among depressive smokers. Relative standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for all-cause mortality was 1.78 (95% CI 1.31 to 2.44) and 3.79 (95% CI 2.54 to 6.66) among non-depressive and depressive smokers, respectively, compared to non-depressive non-smokers. The HR for all-cause mortality and relative SMR of depressive non-smokers were not increased compared to non-depressive non-smokers.

CONCLUSION

Current smoking and increased depressive symptoms seem to additively contribute to excess mortality.

Age-related subtypes of late life depression and mortality: A prospective clinical cohort study

OBJECTIVES

Late Life Depression (LLD) is associated with increased mortality rates, but it remains unclear which depressed patients are at increased risk. This study examined the mortality risk of previously identified subgroups of depressed older patients based on age-related clinical features (the presence of physical and cognitive frailty).

METHODS

A six-year follow-up of a clinical cohort study including 375 depressed older patients and 132 non-depressed persons (NESDO). Depressed patients were diagnosed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) according to DSM-IV criteria and classified by latent profile analysis on depressive symptom severity, cognitive domains and physical frailty. We estimated the hazard rate of mortality for the four depressed subgroups compared to non-depressed persons by applying Cox-regression analyses. Models were adjusted for age, sex and education as confounders and for explanatory variables per pathway in separate models: somatic burden, lifestyle characteristics, vascular burden or inflammation markers.

RESULTS

A total of 61/375 (16.3%) depressed patients and 8/132 (6.1%) non-depressed persons died during the 6-year follow-up. Two of the four subgroups (n = 186/375 (50%) of the depressed sample) had a higher hazard rate (HR) for mortality compared to non-depressed participants, that is, frail-depressed patients (HR = 5.25, [95%-CI: 2.13-13.0]) and pure mild depressed patients (HR = 3.32 [95%-CI: 1.46-7.58]) adjusted for confounders. Adding possible underlying pathways did not explain these associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Age-related features (the presence of physical and cognitive frailty) contribute to the increased mortality risk in late-life depression. Future studies in depressed older patients should study the additional value of a clinical geriatric assessment and integrated treatment aimed to at reduce frailty and ameliorate their mortality risk.

Life years lost for users of specialized mental healthcare

BACKGROUND

Mental disorders are burdensome and are associated with increased mortality. Mortality has been researched for various mental disorders, especially in countries with national registries, including the Nordic countries. Yet, knowledge gaps exist around national differences, while also relatively less studies compare mortality of those seeking help for mental disorders in specialized mental healthcare (SMH) by diagnosis. Additional insight into such mortality distributions for SMH users would be beneficial for both policy and research purposes. We aim to describe and compare the mortality in a population of SMH users with the mortality of the general population. Additionally, we aim to investigate mortality differences between sexes and major diagnosis categories: anxiety, depression, schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorder.

METHODS

Mortality and basic demographics were available for a population of N = 10,914 SMH users in the north of The Netherlands from 2010 until 2017. To estimate mortality over the adult lifespan, parametric Gompertz distributions were fitted on observed mortality using interval regression. Life years lost were computed by calculating the difference between integrals of the survival functions for the general population and the study sample, thus correcting for age. Survival for the general population was obtained from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

RESULTS

SMH users were estimated to lose 9.5 life years (95% CI: 9.4-9.6). Every major diagnosis category was associated with a significant loss of life years, ranging from 7.2 (95% CI: 6.4-7.9) years for anxiety patients to 11.7 (95% CI: 11.0-12.5) years for bipolar disorder patients. Significant differences in mortality were observed between male SMH users and female SMH users, with men losing relatively more life years: 11.0 (95% CI: 10.9-11.2) versus 8.3 (95% CI: 8.2-8.4) respectively. This difference was also observed between sexes within every diagnosis, although the difference was insignificant for bipolar disorder.

CONCLUSION

There were significant differences in mortality between SMH users and the general population. Substantial differences were observed between sexes and between diagnoses. Additional attention is required, and possibly specific interventions are needed to reduce the amount of life years lost by SMH users.

Prospective associations between hand grip strength and subsequent depressive symptoms in men and women aged 50 years and older: insights from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe

Introduction

In previous cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, depressive symptoms have been associated with lower hand grip strength (HGS), which is a convenient measure of overall muscular strength and serves as a marker of poor health. Most studies have considered low sample sizes or highly selective patient cohorts.

Methods

We studied the association between depressive symptoms (EURO-D) and HGS in three waves from the cross-national panel dataset Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Linear regressions and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were conducted to determine factors associated with depressive symptoms and investigate whether HGS predicts future depressive symptoms.

Results

Cross-sectional HGS explained 7.0% (Wave 4), 5.7% (Wave 5), and 6.4% (Wave 6) of the EURO-D variance. In the GEE, we analyzed people without depression in Wave 4 (N = 39,572). HGS predicted future EURO-D (B = -0.21, OR = 0.979, 95%CI (0.979, 0.980), p < 0.001) and remained a significant predictor of future depressive symptoms after adjustment for age, sex, psychosocial and physical covariates.

Discussion

Muscle strength is a known marker for physical health, but a relation with mental health has also been proposed previously. This study confirmed the link between HGS and depressive symptoms in men and women aged ≥50 years in a large longitudinal dataset. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms behind this link to determine whether HGS can serve as a specific marker of depressive symptomology, or whether they coexist due to common underlying disease processes.

Association of depression with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among US adults with high and low baseline risk of cardiovascular disease

The intervention of depression was considered a prevention and treatment option for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, evidence regarding whether association of depression with mortality differed among people at high or low risk of CVD yielded conflicting results. We aimed to investigate associations between depression and all-cause and CVD mortality among 3854 and 3044 US adults at high and low baseline risk of CVD, respectively. Among participants at high risk of CVD, depression and per 5-point increase in PHQ-9 score were associated with 81% (HR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.15-2.86) and 33% (HR=1.33, 95%CI: 1.14-1.55) increased all-cause mortality, respectively. We did not find statistically significant associations between depression (HR=1.40, 95%CI: 0.67-2.95) and PHQ-9 score (HR=1.28, 95%CI: 1.00-1.63) with CVD mortality due to a small number of mortality events. Among people with low risk of CVD, each 5-point increment in PHQ-9 score was associated with all-cause mortality (HR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.02-1.56), while there was no statistically significant association of depression with all-cause mortality (HR=1.69, 95%CI: 0.75-3.81) and CVD mortality (HR=1.99, 95%CI: 0.83-4.81). This study found that depression was associated with all-cause mortality among individuals at a high baseline risk of CVD, but no significant association was observed in people at a low baseline risk of CVD.

Late-Onset Depression but not Early-Onset Depression may Increase the Risk of All-Cause Mortality in Older Age: 8-Year Follow-Up of the Salus in Apulia Study

OBJECTIVES

Individuals with late-life depression (LLD) may have shorter survival, but there is a lack of findings in population-based settings about health-related outcomes of LLD and its subtypes: early-onset depression (EOD) and late-onset depression (LOD). We aimed to evaluate the risk of all-cause mortality of individuals with LLD and its subtypes in an older population-based cohort. Moreover, we investigated whether inflammatory, cognitive, genetic features and multimorbidity could modify the effect of this association.

DESIGN

Longitudinal population-based study with 8-year follow-up.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We analyzed data on a sample of 1479 participants, all aged >65 years, in the Salus in Apulia Study.

METHODS

LLD was diagnosed through DSM-IV-TR criteria and LOD and EOD according to the age of onset. Multimorbidity status was defined as the copresence of 2 or more chronic diseases.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of LLD in this older sample from Southern Italy was 10.2%, subdivided into 3.4% EOD and 6.8% LOD. In multivariable Cox models adjusted for age, gender, education, global cognition, apolipoprotein E ε4 allele, physical frailty, interleukin-6, and multimorbidity, LLD showed a greater risk of all-cause mortality. LOD differed from EOD regarding gender, education, cognitive dysfunctions, and diabetes mellitus. There was a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality for participants with LOD (hazard ratio:1.99; 95% CI 1.33-2.97) in the time of observation between enrollment date and death date (7.31 ± 2.17 months).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATION

In older age, individuals with LOD but not with EOD had a significantly decreased survival, probably related to increased inflammation, multimorbidity, and cognitive impairments.

The individual and joint associations of depression and sleep duration with cardiometabolic diseases and mortality: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Depression and sleep duration were only mutually adjusted in a few studies, and it is unknown whether these two factors are independent or overlapping risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the individual and joint associations of depression and sleep duration with CMDs and mortality.

METHODS

A total of 261,297 participants who were free of CMD at baseline were included. Sleep duration was divided into three groups (short: <7 h/day, referent: ages 39-64 years: 7-9 h/day; ages 65+ years: 7-8 h/day, and long: ages 39-64 years: >9 h/day; ages 65+ years: >8 h/day). The main outcomes were hypertension, stroke, CHD, DM, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality.

RESULTS

Among the 261,297 participants, depression and short or long sleep duration were independently associated with increased risk of CMDs and mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.10-1.38) when they were mutually adjusted, except for the association between short sleep duration and stroke (HR, 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97-1.10). We documented significant additive interactions between depression and short sleep duration in relation to all-cause mortality (relative excess risk due to interaction [RERI], 0.19; 95% CI, 0.02-0.37) and CHD (RERI, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.11-0.48).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, depression and short or long sleep duration were independently associated with an increased risk of CMDs and mortality. We also observed significant additive interactions between depression and short sleep duration in relation to all-cause mortality and CHD.

The contribution of alcohol-related deaths to the life-expectancy gap between people with and without depression - a cross-country comparison

BACKGROUND

Alcohol-related deaths may be among the most important reasons for the shorter life expectancy of people with depression, yet no study has quantified their contribution. We quantify the contribution of alcohol-related deaths to the life-expectancy gap in depression in four European countries with differing levels of alcohol-related mortality.

METHODS

We used cohort data linking population registers with health-care and death records from Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Turin, Italy, in 1993-2007 (210,412,097 person years, 3046,754 deaths). We identified psychiatric inpatients with depression from hospital discharge registers in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden and outpatients with antidepressant prescriptions from prescription registers in Finland and Turin. We assessed alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related deaths using both underlying and contributory causes of death, stratified by sex, age and depression status. We quantified the contribution of alcohol-related deaths by cause-of-death decomposition of the life-expectancy gap at age 25 between people with and without depression.

RESULTS

The gap in life expectancy was 13.1-18.6 years between people with and without inpatient treatment for depression and 6.7-9.1 years between those with and without antidepressant treatment. The contribution of alcohol-related deaths to the life-expectancy gap was larger in Denmark (33.6%) and Finland (18.1-30.5%) - i.e., countries with high overall alcohol-related mortality - than in Sweden (11.9%) and Turin (3.2%), and larger among men in all countries. The life-expectancy gap due to other than alcohol-related deaths varied little across countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol contributes heavily to the lower life expectancy in depression particularly among men and in countries with high overall alcohol-related mortality.

The Influence of Depressive Mood on Mortality in Elderly with Different Health Status: Evidence from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA)

Depression and related syndromes are well identified in older adults. Depression has been reported to increase the incidence of a multitude of somatic disorders. In older adults, the severity of depression is associated with higher mortality rates. The aim of the study is to examine whether the effect of depression screening on mortality is different between individuals with different physical health status. In order to meet this aim, we will first reprove the relationship between depression and mortality rate, and then we will set a subgroup analysis by using self-reported health (SRH) status. Our data source, Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA), is a population-based prospective cohort study that was initiated by the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan. The depression risk was evaluated by 10-items Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D-10), we set 3 CES-D-10 cutting points (5, 10, and 12) and cut our subjects into four groups. Taking mortality as an end point, we use the Taiwan National Death Registry (TNDR) record from 1999 to 2012. Self-rated health (SRH) was taken as an effect modifier between depression and mortality in the elderly group, and stratification took place into three groups (good, fair, poor). The case numbers of 4 CES-D-10 groups were 2253, 939, 285 and 522, respectively. After dividing into 4 CES-D-10 groups, the mortality prevalence rose as the CES-D-10 level grew (40.7%, 47.82%, 54.39% and 67.62%, respectively). In the subgroup analysis, although the p-value of log-rank test showed <0.05 in three groups, as the SRH got worse the Hazard Ratio became more significant (p = 0.122, 0.033, <0.001, respectively). Kaplan−Meier (K-M) survival estimates for different CES-D groups in SRH were poor, and we can see the curves representing second and third CES-D group going almost together, which may suggest the cutting point of CES-D-10 in predicting depression risk should be adjusted in the relatively unhealthy elderly. The importance of the relationship between depression and mortality is re-emphasized in our study. Moreover, through joining SRH in our analysis, we can conclude that in self-rated poor health any sign of depression may lead to a rise in mortality. Therefore, we should pay attention to the old age group’s psychological status, and remember that depressive mood should be scrutinized more carefully in the elderly who feel themselves to be unhealthy.

The Frail Depressed Patient: A Narrative Review on Treatment Challenges

Although the public importance of frailty is widely acknowledged by the World Health Organization, physical frailty is still largely neglected in geriatric mental health care. Firstly in this narrative review, we summarize the knowledge on the epidemiology of the association between depression and frailty, whereafter implications for treatment will be discussed. Even though frailty and depression have overlapping diagnostic criteria, epidemiological studies provide evidence for distinct constructs which are bidirectionally associated. Among depressed patients, frailty has predictive validity being associated with increased mortality rates and an exponentially higher fall risk due to antidepressants. Nonetheless, guidelines on the treatment of depression neither consider frailty for risk stratification nor for treatment selection. We argue that frailty assessment enables clinicians to better target the pharmacological and psychological treatment of depression as well as the need for interventions targeting primarily frailty, for instance, lifestyle interventions and reduction of polypharmacy. Applying a frailty informed framework of depression treatment studies included in a meta-analysis reveals that the benefit–harm ratio of antidepressants given to frail depressed patients can be questioned. Nonetheless, frail-depressed patients should not withhold antidepressants as formal studies are not available yet, but potential adverse effects should be closely monitored. Dopaminergic antidepressants might be preferable when slowness is a prominent clinical feature. Psychotherapy is an important alternative for pharmacological treatment, especially psychotherapeutic approaches within the movement of positive psychology, but this approach needs further study. Finally, geriatric rehabilitation, including physical exercise and nutritional advice, should also be considered. In this regard, targeting ageing-related abnormalities underlying frailty that may also be involved in late-life depression such as low-grade inflammation might be a promising target for future studies. The lack of treatment studies precludes firm recommendations, but more awareness for frailty in mental health care will open a plethora of alternative treatment options to be considered.

Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse in Major Depressive Disorder (RADAR-MDD): recruitment, retention, and data availability in a longitudinal remote measurement study

BACKGROUND

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is prevalent, often chronic, and requires ongoing monitoring of symptoms to track response to treatment and identify early indicators of relapse. Remote Measurement Technologies (RMT) provide an opportunity to transform the measurement and management of MDD, via data collected from inbuilt smartphone sensors and wearable devices alongside app-based questionnaires and tasks. A key question for the field is the extent to which participants can adhere to research protocols and the completeness of data collected. We aimed to describe drop out and data completeness in a naturalistic multimodal longitudinal RMT study, in people with a history of recurrent MDD. We further aimed to determine whether those experiencing a depressive relapse at baseline contributed less complete data.

METHODS

Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse - Major Depressive Disorder (RADAR-MDD) is a multi-centre, prospective observational cohort study conducted as part of the Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse - Central Nervous System (RADAR-CNS) program. People with a history of MDD were provided with a wrist-worn wearable device, and smartphone apps designed to: a) collect data from smartphone sensors; and b) deliver questionnaires, speech tasks, and cognitive assessments. Participants were followed-up for a minimum of 11 months and maximum of 24 months.

RESULTS

Individuals with a history of MDD (n = 623) were enrolled in the study,. We report 80% completion rates for primary outcome assessments across all follow-up timepoints. 79.8% of people participated for the maximum amount of time available and 20.2% withdrew prematurely. We found no evidence of an association between the severity of depression symptoms at baseline and the availability of data. In total, 110 participants had > 50% data available across all data types.

CONCLUSIONS

RADAR-MDD is the largest multimodal RMT study in the field of mental health. Here, we have shown that collecting RMT data from a clinical population is feasible. We found comparable levels of data availability in active and passive forms of data collection, demonstrating that both are feasible in this patient group.

Association between self-reported depression and risk of all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality

BACKGROUND

Depression is a prevalent and disabling mental disorder that frequently co-occurs with a wide range of chronic conditions. Past evidence suggests that depression could be associated with the all-cause mortality and other disease mortality in Western populations, but little is known about the relationship in the Chinese population. Therefore, we investigated the associations between self-reported depression and all-cause and specific-cause mortality in Chinese adult populations.

METHODS

The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure depressive symptoms among 8,151 adult participants drawn from the general population of Guizhou province, China. Participants death and cause of death were determined by linking with the official death records and certificates up to June 2021. Cause of death was coded according to ICD-10 then categorized as either cardiovascular disease (CVD, I00-I99), cancer (C00-C97) or other cause. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to examine the associations of self-reported depression with all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up of 7.4 years, 8,151 participants (52.6% women) at baseline were included in the analysis. The multivariable cox hazard regression models showed that participants with moderate and major depression had the highest hazard ratio (HR) for risk of all-cause mortality (HR=5.65, 95% CI 3.09-10.33), CVD mortality (HR=5.66, 95% CI 2.02-15.84), and cancer mortality (HR=7.21, 95% CI 2.00-25.99), compared with participants had no or mild depression.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggested that depression was a risk factor for mortality, with greater risk for greater severity. Clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of mortality in populations with depression.

Frailty, depression and mortality in a cohort of community-dwelling older adults

Abstract Objective To estimate the risk represented by the combined conditions of frailty and depression in relation to mortality in a cohort of older adults in a prospective measure. Method Prospective cohort study derived from baseline (2008/2009) and follow-up (2016/2017) measurements of the FIBRA Study - Polo Unicamp. Data from 739 older adults (67,2% female; 73,1+5.87 years) living in two urban centers in the state of São Paulo (Brazil) were analyzed to examine survival curves and to estimate mortality risk. The analyzes included four conditions resulting from the combination of depression (presence x absence of symptoms) and frailty (frail x robust) and the covariates sex, age, education, cognitive performance and comorbidities. Results The percentage of deaths was 25.7%. There were significant differences between the survival curves regarding the combinations between frailty and depression. Male sex, age over 75 years, low education, low cognitive performance and the combinations “depression-robust”, “depression-frail” and “no depression-frail” presented independent risks for mortality. In the multivariate model, the highest risks were given, respectively, by older ages, the combinations “depression-robust”, “depression-frail”, “no depression-frail”, male sex and lower cognitive performance. Conclusion Combinations between frailty and depression can result in differences in survival and mortality among older adults. In the nine-year period, depression proved to be the ordering variable of the groups in relation to risk estimates, even in the presence of important covariates. Investments in the prevention of both syndromes and their associations may result in a decrease in mortality in older people from general causes.

Fragilidade, depressão e mortalidade em uma coorte de pessoas idosas residentes na comunidade

Resumo Objetivo Estimar o risco representado por condições combinadas de fragilidade e depressão em relação à mortalidade de uma coorte de idosos em medida prospectiva. Método Estudo de coorte prospectivo derivado das medidas de linha de base (2008/2009) e seguimento (2016/2017) do Estudo Fibra - Polo Unicamp. Foram analisados dados de 739 idosos (67,2% feminino; 73,1+5,87 anos) residentes em dois centros urbanos do estado de São Paulo (Brasil) para o exame de curvas de sobrevida e para estimar risco de mortalidade. As análises incluíram quatro condições resultantes da combinação entre depressão (presença x ausência de sintomas) e de fragilidade (frágil x robusto) e as covariáveis sexo, idade, escolaridade, desempenho cognitivo e comorbidades. Resultados A porcentagem de óbitos foi de 25,7%. Houve diferenças significativas entre as curvas de sobrevida referentes às combinações entre fragilidade e depressão. Sexo masculino, idade acima de 75 anos, baixa escolaridade, baixo desempenho cognitivo e as combinações “depressão-robusto”, “depressão-frágil” e “sem depressão-frágil” apresentaram riscos independentes para mortalidade. No modelo multivariado, os maiores riscos foram dados, respectivamente, por idades mais avançadas, as combinações “depressão-robusto”, “depressão-frágil”, “sem depressão-frágil”, sexo masculino e menor desempenho cognitivo. Conclusão Combinações entre fragilidade e depressão podem resultar em diferenças em sobrevida e mortalidade entre idosos. No período de nove anos, depressão revelou ser a variável de ordenação dos grupos em relação às estimativas de risco, mesmo na presença de covariáveis importantes. Investimentos na prevenção de ambas as síndromes e de suas associações podem resultar diminuição na mortalidade de idosos por causas gerais.

Age and sex trends in depressive symptoms across middle and older adulthood: Comparison of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to American and European cohorts

BACKGROUND

The literature suggests depressive symptoms differ in a non-linear fashion across adulthood and are more commonly reported in women as compared to men. Whether these trends are observed across countries in population-based cohorts is unclear.

METHODS

Cross-sectional observational study of approximately 138,000 women and men between the ages of 45 and 95 from three population-based cohorts representing Canadian, European, and American populations. Age, gender, educational attainment and annual income were assessed in each cohort. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale in the US and Canadian cohorts, and by the EURO-D in the European cohort.

RESULTS

Across all three cohorts, non-linear age trends and gender differences were observed in the report of depressive symptoms, independent from educational attainment and annual income effects. The non-linear age trends reflected a negative association between depressive symptoms and age during midlife and then a positive association in late life. Females reported greater depressive symptoms than males; however, an interaction between gender and age was also observed in the Canadian and European cohorts. Among Canadians, the gender differences were largest after age 70, whereas among Europeans, gender differences where largest among those approximately aged 60.

LIMITATIONS

Limitations include: 1) the cross-sectional nature of the study, resulting in age differences potentially reflecting cohort effects rather than a developmental process; and 2) the use of different depressive symptoms measures across cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

Characterization of depressive symptoms over mid and late adulthood in women and men provides insights into potential focal points for intervention and allocation of resources.

A 6-year prospective clinical cohort study on the bidirectional association between frailty and depressive disorder

INTRODUCTION

Depressive disorder has been conceptualised as a condition of accelerated biological ageing. We operationalised a frailty index (FI) as marker for biological ageing aimed to explore the bidirectional, longitudinal association between frailty and either depressive symptoms or depressive disorder.

METHODS

A cohort study with 6-year follow-up including 377 older (≥60 years) outpatients with a DSM-IV-defined depressive disorder and 132 never-depressed controls. Site visits at baseline, 2 and 6-year follow-up were conducted and included the CIDI 2.0 to assess depressive disorder and relevant covariates. Depressive symptom severity and mortality were assessed every 6 months by mail and telephone. A 41-item FI was operationalised and validated against the 6-year morality rate by Cox regression (HR_FI  = 1.04 [95% CI: 1.02-1.06]).

RESULTS

Cox regression showed that a higher FI was associated with a lower chance of remission among depressed patients (HR_FI  = 0.98 [95% CI: 0.97-0.99]). Nonetheless, this latter effect disappeared after adjustment for baseline depressive symptom severity. Linear mixed models showed that the FI increased over time in the whole sample (B[SE] = 0.94 (0.12), p < .001) with a differential impact of depressive symptom severity and depressive disorder. Higher baseline depressive symptom severity was associated with an attenuated and depressive disorder with an accelerated increase of the FI over time.

CONCLUSIONS

The sum score of depression rating scales is likely confounded by frailty. Depressive disorder, according to DSM-IV criteria, is associated with accelerated biological ageing. This argues for the development of multidisciplinary geriatric care models incorporating frailty to improve the overall outcome of late-life depression.

Excess mortality in depressive and anxiety disorders: The Lifelines Cohort Study

Background

To examine the mortality risk of current and life-time depressive as well as anxiety disorders, whether this risk is moderated by sex or age, and whether this risk can be explained by lifestyle and/or somatic health status.

Methods

A cohort study (Lifelines) including 141,377 participants (18–93 years) which were followed-up regarding mortality for 8.6 years (range 3.0–13.7). Baseline depressive and anxiety disorders according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition criteria were assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and lifetime diagnoses by self-report. All-cause mortality was retrieved from Statistics Netherlands. Cox-regression was applied to calculate proportional hazard ratios, adjusted for lifestyle (physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, and body mass index) and somatic health status (multimorbidity and frailty) in different models.

Results

The mortality rate of depressive and anxiety disorders was conditional upon age but not on sex. Only in people below 60 years, current depressive and anxiety disorders were associated with mortality. Only depressive disorder and panic disorder independently predicted mortality when all mental disorders were included simultaneously in one overall model (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.18 [95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.56–3.05], p < 0.001 and HR = 2.39 [95% CI: 1.15–4.98], p = 0.020). Life-time depressive and anxiety disorders, however, were independent of each other associated with mortality. Associations hardly changed when adjusted for lifestyle characteristics but decreased substantially when adjusted for somatic health status (in particular physical frailty).

Conclusions

In particular, depressive disorder is associated with excess mortality in people below 60 years, independent of their lifestyle. This effect seems partly explained by multimorbidity and frailty, which suggest that chronic disease management of depression-associated somatic morbidity needs to be (further) improved.

Major Depression and Survival in People With Cancer

OBJECTIVE

The question of whether depression is associated with worse survival in people with cancer remains unanswered because of methodological criticism of the published research on the topic. We aimed to study the association in a large methodologically robust study.

METHODS

We analyzed data on 20,582 patients with breast, colorectal, gynecological, lung, and prostate cancers who had attended cancer outpatient clinics in Scotland, United Kingdom. Patients had completed two-stage screening for major depression as part of their cancer care. These data on depression status were linked to demographic, cancer, and subsequent mortality data from national databases. We estimated the association of major depression with survival for each cancer using Cox regression. We adjusted for potential confounders and interactions between potentially time-varying confounders and the interval between cancer diagnosis and depression screening, and used multiple imputation for missing depression and confounder data. We pooled the cancer-specific results using fixed-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Major depression was associated with worse survival for all cancers, with similar adjusted hazard ratios (HRs): breast cancer (HR = 1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15-1.75), colorectal cancer (HR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.11-1.94), gynecological cancer (HR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.08-1.71), lung cancer (HR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.24-1.56), and prostate cancer (HR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.08-2.85). The pooled HR was 1.41 (95% CI = 1.29-1.54, p < .001, I2 = 0%). These findings were not materially different when we only considered the deaths (90%) that were attributed to cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Major depression is associated with worse survival in patients with common cancers. The mechanisms of this association and the clinical implications require further study.

Alexithymia is associated with increased all-cause mortality risk in men, but not in women: A 10-year follow-up study

OBJECTIVE

Alexithymia is associated with various mental as well as physical disorders. Some evidence also suggested high alexithymia to increase mortality risk, but these results are few and based on specific sample compositions. We aimed to investigate the impact of alexithymia on mortality risk in a large population based cohort. In addition, we sought to elucidate the effects of the subfactors of alexithymia and sex differences.

METHODS

In a sample of N = 1380 individuals from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), we investigated the hazard-ratio (HR) of alexithymia as obtained by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) on all-cause mortality over an average observation time of 10 years. Sex-by-TAS-20-interactions as well as sex-stratified analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Alexithymia was significantly associated with enhanced mortality risk (HR = 1.033; 95%-CI = 1.008-1.058); p = 0.009). While sex-by-TAS-20 interactions remained insignificant, sex-stratified analyses showed that this effect was only significant in men (HR = 1.050; 95%-CI = 1.022-1.079; p ≤ 0.001), but not in women (HR: 1.008; 95%-CI = 0.960-1.057; p = 0.76). The effect was validated for the "difficulties identifying feelings" (DIF) and "difficulties describing feelings" (DDF) subfactors of the TAS-20.

CONCLUSION

Our study supports and extents previous findings by indicating that mortality risk enhancing effects of alexithymia are specific to male subjects and validated for the DIF and DDF facets. Socioeconomic, clinical and metabolic factors were associated with this relationship. Finding that the impact of alexithymia remains stable in the fully adjusted models suggests that yet unidentified additional factors must be considered.

Clinical characteristics of late-life depression predicting mortality

OBJECTIVE

Depression has been associated with increased mortality rates, and modifying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. We examined whether specific subtypes or characteristics of late-life depression predict mortality.

METHODS

A cohort study including 378 depressed older patients according to DSM-IV criteria and 132 never depressed comparisons. The predictive value of depression subtypes and characteristics on the six-year mortality rate, as well as their interaction with somatic disease burden and antidepressant drug use, were studied by Cox proportional hazard analysis adjusted for demographic and lifestyle characteristics.

RESULTS

Depressed persons had a higher mortality risk than non-depressed comparisons (HR = 2.95 [95% CI: 1.41-6.16], p = .004), which lost significance after adjustment for age, sex, education, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, number of prescribed medications and somatic comorbidity. Regarding depression subtypes and characteristics, only minor depression was associated with a higher mortality risk when adjusted for confounders (HR = 6.59 [95% CI: 1.79-24.2], p = .005).

CONCLUSIONS

Increased mortality rates of depressed older persons seem best explained by unhealthy lifestyle characteristics and multiple drug prescriptions. The high mortality rate in minor depression, independent of these factors, might point to another, yet unknown, pathway towards mortality for this depression subtype. An explanation might be that minor depression in later life reflects depressive symptoms due to underlying aging-related processes, such as inflammation-based sickness behavior, frailty, and mild cognitive impairment, which have all been associated with increased mortality.

Different independent associations of depression and anxiety with survival in patients with cancer

OBJECTIVE

Depression and anxiety have both been reported to predict worse subsequent survival in people with cancer. However, depression and anxiety are mutually associated and we lack understanding of their independent associations with survival. We therefore aimed to investigate these in a large sample of patients with common cancers.

METHODS

We analysed data on 19,966 patients with common cancers (breast, colorectal, gynaecological, lung and prostate) who had attended specialist NHS outpatient clinics in Scotland, UK. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) data were linked with demographic, cancer and mortality data. We estimated the independent associations of depression (HADS depression score) and anxiety (HADS anxiety score) with survival by fitting (separately for each cancer) Cox proportional hazards models which incorporated cubic splines to allow for non-linear associations. We also adjusted for potential confounders.

RESULTS

The median time from HADS completion to death or censoring was 1.9 years. Greater depression was found to be strongly associated with worse survival from all cancers. When adjusted for anxiety, this association remained in males and increased in females. Greater anxiety was also associated with worse survival in nearly all cancers. However, when adjusted for depression, the association of anxiety with worse survival was lost. In females the association reversed direction so that greater anxiety was associated with better survival.

CONCLUSION

Although often considered together as aspects of 'emotional distress', depression and anxiety have different independent associations with survival in patients with cancer and should therefore be considered separately.

Time-Varying Depressive Symptoms and Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality: Does the Risk Vary by Age or Sex?

Background Depressive symptoms are associated with mortality. Data regarding moderation of this effect by age and sex are inconsistent, however. We aimed to identify whether age and sex modify the association between depressive symptoms and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Methods and Results The REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) study is a prospective cohort of Black and White individuals recruited between 2003 and 2007. Associations between time-varying depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale score ≥4 versus <4) and all-cause and CVD mortality were measured using Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for demographic and clinical risk factors. All results were stratified by age or sex and by self-reported health status. Of 29 491 participants, 3253 (11%) had baseline elevated depressive symptoms. Mean age was 65 (9.4) years, with 55.1% of participants female, 41.1% Black, and 46.4% had excellent/very good health. Depressive symptoms were measured at baseline, on average 4.9 (SD, 1.5), then 2.1 (SD, 0.4) years later. Neither age nor sex moderated the association between elevated time-varying depressive symptoms and all-cause or CVD mortality (all-cause: age 45-64 years adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.38; 95% CI, 1.18-1.61 versus age ≥65 years aHR,1.36; 95% CI, 1.23-1.50; P=0.05; CVD: age 45-64 years aHR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.90-1.53 versus age ≥65 years aHR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.06-1.50; P=0.54; all-cause: males aHR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.29-1.64 versus female aHR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.19-1.50; P=0.35; CVD: male aHR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.08-1.62 versus female aHR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.00-1.47; P=0.64). Similar results were observed when stratified by self-reported health status. Conclusions Depressive symptoms confer mortality risk regardless of age and sex, including individuals who report excellent/very good health.

Association Between Lifetime Affective Symptoms and Premature Mortality

Importance

Associations between affective symptoms and mortality have been evaluated, but studies have not examined timing or cumulative exposure to affective symptoms over the life course.

Objectives

To examine how lifetime accumulation and timing of affective symptoms are associated with mortality and identify potential explanatory factors.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Data were obtained from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (1946 British birth cohort), a socially stratified, population-based sample originally consisting of 5362 singleton births in England, Wales, and Scotland during March 1946. The cohort has been followed up 24 times, most recently in 2014-2015. Eligible participants included those flagged for mortality with affective symptom data available at a minimum of 3 time points (n = 3001). Data analysis was conducted from July 2016 to January 2019.

Exposures

Affective symptoms were assessed at ages 13 to 15 years (teacher-rated questionnaire), 36 years (Present State Examination clinical semistructured interview), 43 years (Psychiatric Symptom Frequency questionnaire), and 53 years (General Health Questionnaire-28). Case-level affective symptoms were determined by those scoring in the top 16th percentile (ie, suggestive of a clinical diagnosis).

Main Outcomes and Measures

Mortality data were obtained from the UK National Health Service Central Register from age 53 to 68 years.

Results

Of 3001 study members (1509 [50.3%] female, 1492 [49.7%] male), 235 individuals (7.8%) died over a 15-year follow-up. After adjustment for sex, those who experienced case-level affective symptoms 1, 2, and 3 to 4 times had 76%, 87%, and 134% higher rates of premature mortality, respectively, compared with those who never experienced case-level symptoms. Case-level symptoms in adolescence only (ages 13-15 years) were associated with a 94% increased rate of mortality, which was unexplained after full adjustment for covariates (hazard ratio, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.10-2.72). Associations between participants with case-level symptoms multiple (2-4) times and mortality were predominately explained by adult health indicators and behaviors. For example, associations for those with case-level symptoms 3 to 4 times were most strongly attenuated by number of health conditions (32.1%), anxiolytic use (28.4%), lung function (24.6%), physical activity (23.9%), smoking (24.6%), antidepressant use (20.1%), diet (16.4%), pulse rate (12.7%), and adult social class (11.2%).

Conclusions and Relevance

Lifetime accumulation of affective symptoms may be associated with an increased rate of mortality, with explanatory pathways dependent on the duration and timing of symptoms. Future research into causal pathways and potential points of intervention should consider affective symptom history.

Relationship of non-melancholic and melancholic depressive symptoms with all-cause mortality: A prospective study in a primary care population

OBJECTIVE

To assess relationship of non-melancholic and melancholic subtypes of depressive symptoms with all-cause mortality among cardiovascular risk persons.

METHODS

A population-based prospective study of 2522 Finnish middle-aged persons with elevated cardiovascular risk was conducted. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Beck's Depression Inventory. Data on mortality were obtained from The Official Statistics of Finland after 11-year follow-up.

RESULTS

At baseline, the prevalence of non-melancholic and melancholic depressive symptoms was 14.9% and 5.2%, respectively. During the mean follow-up time of 11 years, 8.1% (n = 164) of those without, 13.9% (n = 52) of those with non-melancholic, and 10.7% (n = 14) of those with melancholic depressive symptoms died. Compared to non-depressive subjects, the hazard ratio for time to all-cause mortality was 1.67 (95% CI: 1.21-2.32, p = .002) in non-melancholically depressive and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.56-1.83, p = .97) in melancholically depressive subjects, when adjusted for age, gender, education, smoking, alcohol use, BMI, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and glucose disorders. In comparison to the mortality rate in the general population throughout Finland over the same period, non-depressiveness was associated with a decreased standardized mortality rate.

CONCLUSION

Non-melancholic depressive symptoms seem to be associated with excess all-cause mortality. In clinical settings, recognition of non-melancholic depressive symptoms should be emphasised.

Association of Depression With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among Adults in China

IMPORTANCE

Depression is associated with increased disease burden worldwide and with higher risk of mortality in Western populations.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether depression is a risk factor for all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in adults in China.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cohort study prospectively followed adults aged 30 to 79 years in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study from June 1, 2004, to December 31, 2016, and adults aged 32 to 104 years in the Dongfeng-Tongji (DFTJ) study from September 1, 2008, to December 31, 2016. Data analysis was conducted from June 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Depression was evaluated using the Chinese version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form in the CKB cohort and a 7-item symptoms questionnaire modified from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form in the DFTJ cohort. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the association of depression with mortality. Covariates in the final models included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and personal and family medical history.

RESULTS

Among 512 712 individuals (mean [SD] age, 52.0 [10.7] years; 302 509 [59.0%] women) in the CKB cohort, there were 44 065 deaths, including 18 273 CVD deaths. The 12-month prevalence of major depressive episode in the CKB cohort was 0.64%, and the 1-month prevalence of clinically significant depressive symptoms was 17.96% in the DFTJ cohort. Among 26 298 individuals (mean [SD] age, 63.6 [7.8] years; 14 508 [55.2%] women) in the DFTJ cohort, there were 2571 deaths, including 1013 CVD deaths. In the multivariable-adjusted model, depression was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (CKB cohort: HR, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.20-1.46]; P < .001; DFTJ cohort: HR, 1.17 [95% CI, 1.06-1.29]; P = .002) and CVD mortality (CKB cohort: HR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.04-1.44]; P = .02; DFTJ cohort: HR, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.14-1.54]; P < .001). In both cohorts, men had statistically significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality (CKB cohort: HR, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.32-1.76]; DFTJ cohort: HR, 1.24 [95% CI, 1.10-1.41]) and CVD mortality (CKB cohort: HR, 1.39 [95% CI, 1.10-1.76]; DFTJ cohort: HR, 1.49 [95% CI, 1.23-1.80]), while the association of depression with mortality among women was only significant for all-cause mortality in the CKB cohort (HR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.03-1.37]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

These findings suggest that depression is associated with an increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in adults in China, particularly in men. These findings highlight the importance and urgency of depression management as a measure for preventing premature deaths in China.

Meta-analysis of natural, unnatural and cause-specific mortality rates following discharge from in-patient psychiatric facilities

BACKGROUND

People discharged from in-patient psychiatric facilities have highly elevated rates of suicide, and there is increasing concern about natural mortality among the seriously mentally ill.

METHOD

A meta-analysis of English-language, peer-reviewed longitudinal studies of mortality among patients discharged from in-patient psychiatric facilities was conducted using papers published in MEDLINE, PsycINFO or EMBASE (from 1 January 1960 to 1 April 2018) located using the terms ((suicid*).ti AND (hospital OR discharg* OR inpatient OR in-patient OR admit*)).ab and ((mortality OR outcome* OR death*) AND (psych* OR mental*)).ti AND (admit* OR admis* OR hospital* OR inpatient* OR in-patient* OR discharg*).ab. Pooled mortality rates for aggregated natural and unnatural causes, and the specific causes of suicide, accident, homicide, vascular, neoplastic, respiratory, gastrointestinal, infectious and metabolic death were calculated using a random-effects meta-analytic model. Between-study heterogeneity was investigated using subgroup analysis and metaregression.

RESULTS

The pooled natural death rate of 1128 per 100 000 person-years exceeded the pooled unnatural deaths of 479 per 100 000 person-year among studies with varying periods of follow-up. Natural deaths significantly exceeded unnatural deaths among studies with a mean follow-up of longer than 2 years, and vascular deaths exceeded suicide deaths among studies with mean period of follow-up of 5 years or longer.

CONCLUSION

Suicide may be the largest single cause of death in the short term after discharge from in-patient psychiatric facilities but vascular disease is the major cause of mortality in the medium- and long-term.

Psychology's Replication Crisis and Clinical Psychological Science

Despite psychological scientists' increasing interest in replicability, open science, research transparency, and the improvement of methods and practices, the clinical psychology community has been slow to engage. This has been shifting more recently, and with this review, we hope to facilitate this emerging dialogue. We begin by examining some potential areas of weakness in clinical psychology in terms of methods, practices, and evidentiary base. We then discuss a select overview of solutions, tools, and current concerns of the reform movement from a clinical psychological science perspective. We examine areas of clinical science expertise (e.g., implementation science) that should be leveraged to inform open science and reform efforts. Finally, we reiterate the call to clinical psychologists to increase their efforts toward reform that can further improve the credibility of clinical psychological science.

Prevalence of late-life depression and gap in mental health service use across European regions

Background We aimed to determine the prevalence and gap in use of mental health services for late-life depression in four European regions (Western Europe, Scandinavia, Southern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe) and explore socio-demographic, social and health-related factors associated with it. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study based on data from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Participants were a population-based sample of 28 796 persons (53% women, mean age 74 years old) residing in Europe. Mental health service use was estimated using information about the diagnosis or treatment for depression. Results The prevalence of late-life depression was 29% in the whole sample and was highest in Southern Europe (35%), followed by Central and Eastern Europe (32%), Western Europe (26%) and lowest in Scandinavia (17%). Factors that had the strongest association with depression were total number of chronic diseases, pain, limitations in instrumental activities of daily living, grip strength and cognitive impairment. The gap in mental health service use was 79%. Conclusions We suggest that interventions to decrease the burden of late-life depression should be targeted at individuals that are affected by chronic somatic comorbidities and are limited in mental and physical functioning. Promotion of help-seeking of older adults, de-stigmatization of mental illness and education of general practitioners could help decrease the gap in mental health service utilization.

The association of depression and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

BACKGROUND

Depression is a prevalent and disabling mental disorder that frequently co-occurs with a wide range of chronic conditions. Evidence has suggested that depression could be associated with excess all-cause mortality across different settings and populations, although the causality of these associations remains unclear.

METHODS

We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase electronic databases were searched through January 20, 2018. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses that investigated associations of depression and all-cause and cause-specific mortality were selected for the review. The evidence was graded as convincing, highly suggestive, suggestive, or weak based on quantitative criteria that included an assessment of heterogeneity, 95% prediction intervals, small-study effects, and excess significance bias.

RESULTS

A total of 26 references providing 2 systematic reviews and data for 17 meta-analytic estimates met inclusion criteria (19 of them on all-cause mortality); data from 246 unique studies (N = 3,825,380) were synthesized. All 17 associations had P < 0.05 per random effects summary effects, but none of them met criteria for convincing evidence. Associations of depression and all-cause mortality in patients after acute myocardial infarction, in individuals with heart failure, in cancer patients as well as in samples from mixed settings met criteria for highly suggestive evidence. However, none of the associations remained supported by highly suggestive evidence in sensitivity analyses that considered studies employing structured diagnostic interviews. In addition, associations of depression and all-cause mortality in cancer and post-acute myocardial infarction samples were supported only by suggestive evidence when studies that tried to adjust for potential confounders were considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Even though associations between depression and mortality have nominally significant results in all assessed settings and populations, the evidence becomes weaker when focusing on studies that used structured interviews and those that tried to adjust for potential confounders. A causal effect of depression on all-cause and cause-specific mortality remains unproven, and thus interventions targeting depression are not expected to result in lower mortality rates at least based on current evidence from observational studies.

Adolescent affective symptoms and mortality

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the relationship between adolescent affective problems (anxiety and depression) and mortality.AimsTo examine whether adolescent affective symptoms are associated with premature mortality, and to assess whether this relationship is independent of other developmental factors.

METHOD

Data (n = 3884) was from Britain's oldest birth cohort study - the National Survey of Health and Development. Adolescent affective symptoms were rated by teachers at ages 13 and 15 years: scores were summed and classified into three categories: mild or no, moderate and severe symptoms (1st-50th, 51st-90th and 91st-100th percentiles, respectively). Mortality data were obtained from national registry data up to age 68 years. Potential confounders were parental social class, childhood cognition and illness, and adolescent externalising behaviour.

RESULTS

Over the 53-year follow-up period, 12.2% (n = 472) of study members died. Severe adolescent affective symptoms were associated with an increased rate of mortality compared with those with mild or no symptoms (gender adjusted hazard ratio 1.76, 95% CI 1.33-2.33). This association was only partially attenuated after adjustment for potential confounders (fully adjusted hazard ratio 1.61, 95% CI 1.20-2.15). There was suggestive evidence of an association across multiple causes of death. Moderate symptoms were not associated with mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Severe adolescent affective symptoms are associated with an increased rate of premature mortality over a 53-year follow-up period, independent of potential confounders. These findings underscore the importance of early mental health interventions.Declaration of interestNone.

Illness burden and physical outcomes associated with collaborative care in patients with comorbid depressive disorder in chronic medical conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Collaborative care (CC) improves depressive symptoms in people with comorbid depressive disorder in chronic medical conditions, but its effect on physical symptoms has not yet systematically been reviewed. This study aims to do so.

METHODS

Systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the European and US Clinical Trial Registers. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CC compared to care as usual (CAU), in primary care and general hospital setting, reporting on physical and depressive symptoms as outcomes. Overall treatment effects were estimated for illness burden, physical outcomes and depression, respectively.

RESULTS

Twenty RCTs were included, with N=4774 patients. The overall effect size of CC versus CAU for illness burden was OR 1.64 (95%CI 1.47;1.83), d=0.27 (95%CI 0.21;0.33). Best physical outcomes in CC were found for hypertension with comorbiddepression. Overall, depression outcomes were better for CC than for CAU. Moderator analyses did not yield statistically significant differences.

CONCLUSIONS

CC is more effective than CAU in terms of illness burden, physical outcomes and depression, in patients with comorbid depression in chronic medical conditions. More research covering multiple medical conditions is needed.

PROTOCOL REGISTRATION NUMBER

The protocol for this systematic review and meta-analysis has been registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on February 19th 2016: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/DisplayPDF.php?ID=CRD42016035553.

Physical Exercise in Major Depression: Reducing the Mortality Gap While Improving Clinical Outcomes

Major depression shortens life while the effectiveness of frontline treatments remains modest. Exercise has been shown to be effective both in reducing mortality and in treating symptoms of major depression, but it is still underutilized in clinical practice, possibly due to prevalent misperceptions. For instance, a common misperception is that exercise is beneficial for depression mostly because of its positive effects on the body ("from the neck down"), whereas its effectiveness in treating core features of depression ("from the neck up") is underappreciated. Other long-held misperceptions are that patients suffering from depression will not engage in exercise even if physicians prescribe it, and that only vigorous exercise is effective. Lastly, a false assumption is that exercise may be more harmful than beneficial in old age, and therefore should only be recommended to younger patients. This narrative review summarizes relevant literature to address the aforementioned misperceptions and to provide practical recommendations for prescribing exercise to individuals with major depression.