Depression in Older Adults with Diabetes: Measurement and Implications for Care

Abstract

(from the chapter) Older patients with diabetes are at increased risk for multiple chronic conditions, including depression. Depression can impact on aspects of diabetes self-care including dietary self-management, exercise, and medication regimens and lead to poor glycemic control. Furthermore, depression is a major concern in older patients given that this population has the highest suicide rate of any age group. Thus, screening and treating depression in older diabetes patients is critical to improve health outcomes and reduce the risk of suicide. Despite increased awareness of comorbid depression and diabetes, diagnosis and treatment of depression in older diabetes patients remains a considerable challenge. Depression is frequently under-recognized and under-treated, with less than 25% of diabetes patients' depression successfully identified and treated in clinical practice. For older patients, depression may present with a variety of symptoms that vary from those observed in younger adults. Healthcare professionals have an important role in screening older diabetes patients at risk for depression and in identifying the number and severity of depressive symptoms. Several screening instruments have been developed that target depression in older patients or have been validated in this population; however, the validity of these instruments in older patients with diabetes requires further examination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)