The effect of depression treatment on elderly patients' preferences for life-sustaining medical therapy

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken 1) to test the hypothesis that remission of depression results in an increase in desire for life- sustaining medical therapy and 2) to characterize patients whose desire for life-sustaining treatment increases substantially following depression therapy. METHOD: Elderly patients, suffering from major depression, were interviewed on admission to a psychiatric inpatient unit and at discharge about their desire for specific medical therapies in their current state of health and in two hypothetical scenarios of medical illness. A psychiatrist rated the impact of depressive thinking on the subject's response to these questions. Forty-three subjects completed the study, and 24 were in remission from depression at the time of discharge. RESULTS: In the majority of patients, remission of depression did not result in an increase in desire for life-sustaining medical therapy. However, a clinically evident increase in desire for life-sustaining medical therapies followed treatment...