Depression in Elderly Persons and its Correlates in Family Practice: A Canadian Study

Depression was studied in a Canadian community sample of 582 men and 906 women over the age of 65 years. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) provided the measure of depressive symptomatology. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule was used to confirm clinical diagnosis. A total of 8% of the sample (4.3% of men and 10.4% of women) were at or above the cut-off point of 16 on the Depression Scale. Significant Pearson correlations with depression were found for gender and education. The married and never married persons showed low depression while the widowed, separated, or divorced appeared to be at high risk. The relationship of marital status to depression is primarily a woman's issue as most elderly men are married. This finding may have implications for policy and program planning for this population.