Depressive Symptoms and Health Service Utilization among the Community Elderly

The relationship between depression and complaints of physical disease in the elderly is often discussed but has received little documentation. The authors administered questionnaires to 88 elderly volunteers to assess two common psychologic diagnoses, affective disorders and organic brain syndrome, and three common cardiovascular symptoms, pain or numbness in the jaw or arm, pressure in the chest, and difficulty in breathing. Data on utilization of health care professionals and demographic information were also obtained. A significant correlation between reports of depression and complaints of cardiovascular symptoms was seen. While the volunteers with depressive symptoms also visited their physicians more often than did the other volunteers, they did not seek the help of mental health professionals. This raises the larger issue that elderly persons who have mild to moderate depression present to our health care system.