Age

Growing old is not easy: Friends and family members die. A satisfying professional life may be a thing of the past. Physical frailty usually may replace health, and the need for assistance with cooking, bathing, and dressing often replaces the ability to live independently. Still, depression should not be accepted as a normal part of aging. When left untreated, depression in the elderly causes needless suffering, both for individuals who could otherwise be leading a fruitful life and for family members whose emotional and financial resources may be depleted caring for those individuals.

Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Hepatitis C High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control See the top websites for information about depression Find a therapist Depression-Related Clinical Trials Information Email this page Print this section

In the doctor's office, the older person may not discuss feelings of hopelessness or prolonged grief after a loss. But there is no stronger evidence of the problem of depression in older adults than the suicide rate. Suicide is often seen as a young man's act of desperation. But in fact, the elderly, particularly older white males, have the highest rates. Most older suicide victims have been to see their primary care physicians within the month of their death, many with a depressive illness that was not diagnosed, let alone treated.