Epidemiology of Late- Life Depression and Ethnicity Research Study

描述（由申请人提供）：老年抑郁症流行病学和种族研究研究（ELLDERS）目前，抑郁症是美国残疾的主要原因，随着人口在未来几十年继续老龄化，其重要性将继续上升。对于老年人来说，符合既定诊断标准的“真正”抑郁症的全国患病率估计可以追溯到20世纪80年代的精神病学流行病学工作。从人口统计学的角度来看，在过去的20年里，美国和国际上的公共卫生发生了很大的变化。中年的“婴儿潮一代”现在进入退休年龄，拉丁美洲人，在很大程度上被忽视，直到千禧年之交，现在是该国最大的少数民族。此外，在过去的二十年里，新技术促进了我们对抑郁症的理解和治疗。然而，大多数患有抑郁症的美国人未经治疗或治疗不足，特别是弱势族裔和少数民族。Alexopoulos，Krishnan和其他人的杰出工作依赖于临床观察和患者研究来提出晚年抑郁症亚型;然而，这些亚型尚未在人群水平上进行检查。需要更新老年人“真正”抑郁症的国家估计数，以告知当前和预测的基于证据的分配，为老龄化人口提供适当的精神卫生资源。这项研究应用的产品可以为老龄化和日益多样化的美国人口中预防晚年抑郁症的机会提供见解。公共卫生相关性：该项目申请（PA-07-082）标题为“老年抑郁症流行病学和种族研究”（ELLDERS），是一项为期三年的研究，旨在检查国家层面与老年抑郁症相关的疾病的患病率、风险和负担。来自ELLDERS的调查结果将提供关于美国受影响老年人的重性抑郁症分布和功能状态的最新估计。这项研究应用的产品可以为老龄化和日益多样化的美国人口中预防晚年抑郁症的机会提供见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Epidemiology of late-life depression and ethnicity research study (ELLDERS) Currently, depression is a leading cause of disability in the United States and will continue to ascend in importance as the population continues to grow older over the coming decades. For older adults, national prevalence estimates of "true" depressive disorders meeting established diagnostic criteria date back to pioneer psychiatric epidemiologic work in the nineteen-eighties. Demographically, much has changed over the past twenty-years in the public health of the United States and internationally. Middle-aged "baby boomers" are now entering retirement age and Latinos, largely ignored until the turn of the millennium, are now the largest ethnic minority in the country. Additionally, new technologies have advanced our understanding and treatment of depression over the past two decades. Yet, most Americans with depression go untreated or undertreated, especially disadvantaged ethnic and racial minorities. Thoughtful work by Alexopoulos, Krishnan and others has relied on clinical observations and patient studies of to suggest late-life depression subtypes; however these subtypes have not been examined at the population level. Updated national estimates of "true" depressive disorders in older adults are needed to inform current and projected evidence-based allocations of appropriate mental health resources for an aging population. The products of this research application may offer insights for opportunities for late-life depression prevention in an aging and increasingly diverse United States population. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The project application (PA-07-082) titled the Epidemiology of late-life depression and ethnicity research study (ELLDERS) is a three-year study to examine the prevalence, risks, and burden of disease associated with late- life depression at the national level. Findings from the ELLDERS will provide updated estimates on the distribution of major depression and functional status of affected older adults in the United States. The products of this research application may offer insights for opportunities for late-life depression prevention in an aging and increasingly diverse United States population.