Research Snapshot: Depression screening in older adults
“The number of antidepressants prescribed in the U.S. is skyrocketing as more primary care providers give antidepressants to patients even though many of them don’t have a psychiatric diagnosis.
A group of University of Minnesota researchers set out to study how that trend might be affecting older adults.
‘We found that physicians were less likely to prescribe unnecessary antidepressants when they screened their patients for depression,’ said Greg Rhee, Ph.D., M.S.W., primary author of the study affiliated with the College of Pharmacy.
The study looked at adults age 65 or older.
The study, recently published in Preventive Medicine, utilized data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. It surveyed primary care physicians to randomly sample over 9,000 visits made among older adults in 2010-2012.”
Out of 9,313 visits analyzed in Rhee’s study, only 209 included a depression screening.