Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Blazer, D. G. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Blazer, D. G. Geriatric Psychiatry Depression

Psychiatry and the Oldest Old

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the assessment and management of psychiatric problems among the oldest old. METHOD: The author reviewed the English-language literature pertinent to the characteristics of people 85 years old or older and the assessment and management of psychiatric disorders in this age group with a special focus on depression in the oldest old. RESULTS: Much of the current literature in geriatric psychiatry ignores the oldest old, focusing instead on the treatment of specific psychiatric disorders with unimodal or bimodal therapies. In contrast, geriatric medicine has focused on geriatric syndromes, functional status, comprehensive geriatric assessment, and multimodal intervention. The author describes an approach to treating the oldest old that incorporates depression as an example. This approach is based on the philosophy that has worked well in geriatric medicine but has been increasingly abandoned by psychiatry over recent years. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive, interdisciplinary assessment and therapy were the cornerstones of geriatric psychiatry 30 years ago. As psychiatry has moved toward a medical model and emphasized pharmacological therapies, it has moved away from the mainstream of geriatric practice. The time has come for geriatric psychiatry to rejoin geriatric medicine so that psychiatry can recapture its roots and deliver optimal care to the oldest old.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. ERLANGSEN, P. B. MORTENSEN, W. VACH, and B. JEUNE Psychiatric hospitalisation and suicide among the very old in Denmark: population-based register study The British Journal of Psychiatry, July 1, 2005; 187(1): 43 - 48. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. L. Stek, D. J. Vinkers, J. Gussekloo, A. T.F. Beekman, R. C. van der Mast, and R. G.J. Westendorp Is Depression in Old Age Fatal Only When People Feel Lonely? Am J Psychiatry, January 1, 2005; 162(1): 178 - 180. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. D. Dunlop, J. Song, J. S. Lyons, L. M. Manheim, and R. W. Chang Racial/Ethnic Differences in Rates of Depression Among Preretirement Adults Am J Public Health, November 1, 2003; 93(11): 1945 - 1952. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. K. Schultz, V. L. Ellingrod, C. Turvey, D. J. Moser, and S. Arndt The Influence of Cognitive Impairment and Behavioral Dysregulation on Daily Functioning in the Nursing Home Setting Am J Psychiatry, March 1, 2003; 160(3): 582 - 584. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. G. Blazer Depression in Late Life: Review and Commentary J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., March 1, 2003; 58(3): M249 - 265. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2000 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us