Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Depression in Elderly Finnish Home Nursing Patients and Home Help Clients

Depressive symptoms in a population (N=419) aged 65 years or over and receiving home nursing, home help or both were assessed by postal questionnaires including the Zung self- rating depression scale (SDS). Eighty-six percent participated, and 38 percent of both men and women scored 45 raw sumpoints or more in the SDS. The mean of the raw sumpoints was 42.1 (± 9.6) for men (N = 100) and 41.4 (± 9.0) for women (N = 238, the difference being nonsignificant. Home help clients scored less than home nursing patients or patients receiving both home nursing and home help. The population scoring 45 raw SDS sumpoints or more was investigated by a general prac titioner, and the diagnosis of depression was made according to DSM III-criteria. The clinical investigations showed 26 percent of both men and women who participated to be depressive. Chronic depression was the most common class, folowed by atypical depression. About two thirds of the depressive men and half of the depressive women were 'new' cases in that it had not been realized earlier that they suffer from depression. Atypical depression was the class where underdiagnozing was most evident. Among elderly men psychomotor retardation, libido loss, anorexia and indecisiveness and among elderly women psychomotor retardation, indecisiveness, emptiness and diurnal varia tion were common symptoms of depression.