Residual symptoms in elderly major depression remitters

Objective: To assess residual symptoms in severe geriatric major depression in remission, and to determine baseline clinical and sociodemographic predictors of residual symptoms in remitters. Method: A total of 108 elderly patients with unipolar major depression were evaluated and treated naturalistically for 9 months so as to record the predictors of residual symptoms in remitters. In order to reduce the likelihood of confusing residual symptoms with normal effects of age, 30 control subjects were also monitored. Results: Seventy-nine patients (73.1%) were considered remitters and 82.3% of remitters showed residual symptoms. Medical burden, chronic stress and subjective social support were the only variables which predicted the severity of residual symptoms in remitters. Conclusion: Residual symptoms in elderly patients with major depression in remission should not only be attributed exclusively to intrinsic factors of the illness or the age of the individual patient, but also to external factors.