How Common is
Depression Among Older Adults with
Alcohol Problems?
Older people
who are depressed are three to four times more likely to have
alcohol related problems than are older people who are not
depressed. (Devanand, 2002)
Between 15 and 30 % of persons with major late life
depression have alcohol problems. (Devanand, 2002).
There are two main forms of depression among older adults that are
tied to alcohol dependency:
1) Transient depression: Older adults who have been drinking heavily
may be depressed on short term basis either from being intoxicated
or as they withdraw from the alcohol. This form of depression will
pass as the drinking subsides or as the acute and post acute phases
of alcohol withdrawal occur.
2) Underlying depression: When depression or other symptoms persist
unchanged for weeks or longer after the person has stopped drinking,
then it is considered to be a “co-morbid disorder". (Atkinson, 2002)
http://www.agingincanada.ca/alcohol_and_depression.htm
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