[Late life depression - Diagnosis, pathophysiology and therapeutic strategies]

Abstract

Late-life depression is a frequent and severe mental disorder. It is characterized by alterations in mood as well as cognitive deficits and somatic symptoms. LLD is associated with various adverse outcomes, such as reduced quality of life, negative impact on physical comorbidities, functional impairments, increased suicide and non-suicide mortality. Moreover, LLD serves as a risk factor for developing all-cause dementia, including Alzheimer´s disease. It leads to a frequent use of health care services and remains a serious public health concern. Unfortunately, LLD is often misinterpreted as a physiological aging process and thus remains underdiagnosed and undertreated for years. With a view towards the demographic change LLD is one of the major diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of the aging society. Nevertheless, psychotherapy, pharmacological interventions as well as ECT are effective treatment options. The goal of any treatment for LLD is to ensure full remission, functional recovery and social reintegration.