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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate depression at 12 months following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in older compared with younger adults.
DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal cohort study of persons with medically documented mild, moderate, and severe TBI at 12 months post-injury. SETTING: Eighteen participating Level One trauma centers in the U.S. PARTICIPANTS: 1,505 participants with TBI and primary outcome data at 12-month follow-up. INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).
RESULTS: PHQ-9 total scores were significantly lower for older adults (age≥65)(M = 3.2) as compared with younger adults (age<65)(M = 5.0) (B = -1.63, p <.001), indicating less depressive symptoms in older adults. Age did not interact with education, sex, race/ethnicity, psychiatric history, substance use, or GCS severity to impact PHQ-9 scores. Of the 29% of older adults who endorsed symptoms consistent with depression, 14% were classified as minor depression and 15% as major depression. The odds of older adults falling in the major depression vs. no depression group was significantly lower (decreased by 56%) as compared with younger adults (OR = 0.44, p =.001).
CONCLUSIONS: At 12-months post-TBI, older adults endorse lower depressive symptoms than their younger counterparts and are less likely to experience major depression; however, over one-fourth of older adults endorsed symptoms consistent with depression, warranting evaluation and treatment.
Language: en |