The depressed elderly Chinese living in the community: A five-year follow-up study

Abstract

In 1985 a random sample of 612 elderly Chinese aged 65 and over living in the community in Singapore was interviewed using the GMS-AGECAT package. The survey identified 35 cases and 28 subcases of depressive disorder. Five years later only 31 cases could be traced; in this subsample 10 were still depressed (32.3%), eight had recovered (25.8%), five were categorized as subcases of depression (16.1%), two were diagnosed as anxiety disorder (6.5%), one case was diagnosed as having dementia (3.2%) and five had died (16.1%). Only 25 subcases from the initial study could be traced; of these, three had developed depression (12.0%), 15 had recovered (60.0%), four remained as subcases (16.0%) and three had died (12.0%).