Escalating rates of depression in the last year of life

A study has revealed high rates of depressive symptoms in the last year of life as well as differences in the burden of depressive symptoms.  Researchers of the interview-based study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society concluded that a public health approach must be taken to screen for and appropriately treat symptoms of depression across the lifespan. It included 3,274 individuals who died by the end of the study and found that depression symptoms increased gradually from 12 to 4 months before death and then escalated from 4 to 1 months before death. Women, younger adults, and non-white adults all had higher rates of depressive