Relapse of Late-Life Depression (LLD)

Depression is a common mental health disorder that affects one's mental, physical, and social ability. It affects the daily life of a person and can affect people at any age in their life. Late-life depression is a depressive disorder specifically in adults that differs based on many different factors. It is correlated with adults usually over the age of 60 who also have other heath conditions and disabilities. There are antidepressant treatments that have proven to be effective in remission; however, the risk for relapse is still high and there are factors being studied that can contribute to identifying potential relapse.  

In the research paper “Reconsidering remission in recurrent late-life depression: clinical presentation and phenotypic predictors of relapse following successful antidepressant treatment”, Dr. Ajilore and his colleagues focused on conducting studies that highlighted these potential predictors of relapse. The study was conducted in the span of two years with a control group and a remitted LLD group with symptom phenotyping. The results of this experiment concluded that 44% of the LLD participants experienced relapse with differing symptoms than the control group. The relapsed individuals had higher antidepressant use, stress, fatigue, symptom severity, and social isolation. Factors that contributed to these differences were LLD treatment intensity, worse physical health, and greater life stress. Overall, these findings emphasized the understanding of how broader life factors can also impact relapse and there are a few distinct variables that can help identify LLD.  

To further this work, a recent study by Quan Sun and his colleagues dived into LLD turning into a global concern that has increased in numbers in the past three decades. Key attributes to this epidemic are demographic disparities and lack of accessible resources. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “the prevalence of LLD is rising, particularly in low-income countries (W.H. Organization, 2007). This rise is further exacerbated by population aging, social pressures, and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, which led to a 27.6 % surge in global depression cases during the pandemic” (Sun et al. 2). In 2021, there were approximately 49.1 million new cases of LLD. At the end, key findings of the study determined that LLD relapse was more frequent in females rather than males and population growth globally was an important burden. Regions that had a lower sociodemographic index would have the hardest time facing the increase of LLD. 

The research conducted by Dr. Ajilorie and his colleagues as well as Quan Sun and his colleagues discuss the increased concerns for the relapse of late-life depression. Both studies provide insight into symptoms that can cause LLD and why it is prevalent now. Further implications of this health concern could be to focus on personalizing screening, allocating appropriate resources, and developing work to identify specific neurological precursors.  

 

References: 

Sun Q, Wei Y, Xie H, et al. The global, regional, and national late-life depression burden and trends from 1990 to 2021: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2025;131:105758. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2025.105758 

Taylor WD, Butters MA, Elson D, et al. Reconsidering remission in recurrent late-life depression: clinical presentation and phenotypic predictors of relapse following successful antidepressant treatment. Psychological Medicine. 2024;54(16):4896-4907. doi:10.1017/S0033291724003246