Late-onset depression is not a diagnosis; rather, it refers to a subset of patients with major or minor depression whose later age at first onset imparts slightly different clinical characteristics, suggesting the possibility of distinct etiology.
It has been suggested that late onset depression, is a predictor of a low response rate to anti-depressant and deteriorating course of illness.
It is late-onset depression that is associated with a greater risk of vascular disease and concomitantly with deep white matter hyperintensities.
Patients with late-onset depression display greater apathy and less time personality dysfunction. Cognitive deficits may be prominent, with more impaired executive and memory functioning.
Researchers observed that patients with late-onset depression more frequently experienced agitation, weight loss, and constipation.
Others observed that patients with late-onset depression had prominent anxiety, hypochondriasis and hysterical behavior.
Late onset depression
