Minor and Major Depression and the Risk of Death in Older Persons

Abstract
MORTALITY studies in psychiatry are important because they are an integral part of the effort to develop a comprehensive understanding of the development, course, and outcome of psychiatric disorders.1 Previous mortality studies have concentrated either on major depression, as defined by DSM-IV criteria,2 or on depressive symptoms in general, not specifically defining the type of depression. The latter mainly include cases of marked depressive symptoms below the severity threshold of major depression, often referred to as subthreshold or minor depression.3,4