RSS Feeds
The Effect of a Primary Care Practice–Based Depression Intervention on Mortality in Older Adults
- Brett D. Thombs, PhD; and
- Roy C. Ziegelstein, MD
- From McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3T 1E4, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224.
TO THE EDITOR:
Gallo and colleagues (1) recently reported that a depression care management intervention significantly reduced risk for 5-year mortality among older primary care patients who have major depression compared with patients receiving usual care. No deaths from suicide among patients with major depression occurred in either group. The results from this study are of potentially great importance. Despite many studies that report prospective relationships between depression and important outcomes, such as mortality, little evidence suggests that depression treatment reduces overall mortality rates.
The statistical methods …
