Collaborative Care Improved Symptoms in Older Adults With Mild Depression

US Pharm. 2017;42(5):36.

York, England—According to University of York researchers, collaborative care versus usual care in older adults with subthreshold depression resulted in improvements in depressive symptoms after 4 months. Of 704 adults aged 65 years and older, 344 received collaborative care and 361 received usual primary care; participants completed an average of six weekly sessions of behavioral activation, and functional impairments were evaluated. During follow-up assessments, the proportion of collaborative-care patients meeting criteria for depression was lower than that of usual-care patients. However, the clinical importance of this finding is uncertain. “Although differences persisted through 12 months, findings are limited by attrition, and further research is needed to assess longer-term efficacy,” the researchers noted.