Pharmacological and Psychotherapeutic Interventions in Treating Depression in Elderly

Depression is a life-threatening disorder that affects up to 13.3% of the elderly population, being a major public health problem with detrimental effects on overall health, cognitive function, quality of life and mortality. Although depression in the geriatric population is relatively common, it is nevertheless not a normal part of aging and is often unrecognized or difficult to diagnose in elderly patients because they themselves consult their GP mainly for organic and physical discomfort and are reluctant to openly express their problem, with the result that the diagnosis is difficult to make, influencing the appropriate treatment options, pharmacological and not. The aim of this review is to highlight the importance of the main therapeutic interventions, pharmacological and psychotherapeutic, in the treatment of depression affecting the elderly population. For the writing of this review, a systematic approach was used to search and identify all recently published literature (articles, studies and reviews) related to Depression in Elderly, through the scientific databases PubMed, Academia.Edu, ResearchGate. As antidepressants contribute to multidrugs in elderly patients and lead to side effects and interactions with other drugs, psychotherapeutic interventions are necessary as they can improve the mental health and function of elderly patients.