Depression affects between 10-15% of older people, making it the most frequently encountered mental health condition in later life. Despite this, the condition is easily missed in clinical practice or not adequately treated. Part of the Oxford Psychiatry Library, this concise pocketbook will provide an accessible account of what depression in older people is like, why it is important and what treatments help. The text will highlight which areas of depression are of special relevance to later life, how to diagnose depression in an older person, the overlap with dementia and various other physical illnesses, and important pharmacological considerations.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Classification and epidemiology; 3. Clinical features; 4. Aetiology; 5. Comorbidity and depression in later life; 6. Assessment and management; 7. Depression in primary care; 8. Prognosis; 9. Prevention; 10. Resources; Appendix

Author Biography

Robert Baldwin has been a Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry at Manchester Royal Infirmary since 1985 and Honorary Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester since 2000. His main research interest is mood disorders in later life, on which he has published widely.