Related Articles Outcomes and predictors of late-life depression trajectories in older primary care patients. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008 May;16(5):406-15 Authors: Cui X, Lyness JM, Tang W, Tu X, Conwell Y OBJECTIVES: The naturalistic outcomes of depression in older primary care patients have been poorly characterized. The authors sought to identify depressive trajectories over 2 years and to examine specified outcome predictors. DESIGN: Two-year observational cohort study. SETTING: University-based and independent practice primary care practices in greater Rochester. PARTICIPANTS: All patients aged >65 years presenting for care on selected recruitment days were eligible to participate. Of 392 subjects enrolled, 316 (80.6%) completed study measures over a 2-year follow-up. MEASUREMENTS: Depression trajectories were derived by applying longitudinal cluster analysis to weekly depression status from the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation. RESULTS: The authors identified six distinct trajectory clusters that followed clinically intuitive patterns. Although subjects initially nondepressed or in the subsyndromal to minor depression range had a range of possible outcomes over 2 years, the cluster initially near the major depression level remained at that level over time. Consistent predictors of depression trajectory were baseline depressive symptom severity, medical burden, and psychiatric functional status; for some clusters, previ ...
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