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Disparate studies have suggested that older individuals with major depression have a more chronic course with less persistent recovery than other adults, but these studies were small, did not include stringent diagnoses, and did not use detailed follow-up measures. In the current longitudinal study, researchers followed 1042 adults with major depression (age range, 18–88) for 2 years.
Calendar-based life-charting methods were used to obtain detailed descriptions of symptoms during the 2-year period. On all four indicators studied, patients over age 70 had worse outcomes than young adults (ages, 18–29). Older patients were more likely than younger patients to:
Retain the diagnosis at 2 years (51% vs. 36%)
Have a chronic symptom course (at least…