Iatrogenic depression in the elderly

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the use of medication and depression in the elderly. Method A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted. Associations between the use of medication and depression are corrected for eight other etiological correlates of depression. The sample consisted of 2646 elderly people living in 11 municipalities in the Netherlands. Subjects were taken from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, a 10-year longitudinal study on predictors and consequences of changes in well-being and autonomy in the older population. Associations are expressed in odds ratios (95 % Confidence Intervals) between the use of (groups of) medication and depression. Results are adjusted for age, sex, urbanicity, socioeconomic status, physical health, social and interpersonal support, comorbidity with other psychiatric disease and personality. The Population Attributable Risk percentage was calculated for selected groups of medication. Results After correction for competing risk factors of depression, 22 individual medications and nine groups of medications had unique associations with depression. Conclusions The use of depressogenic medication is an independent etiological factor in the pathogenesis of depression.