• Depression is one of the most common mental disorders experienced by elders.
  
  
• Of the 35 million Americans age 65 or older, about 2 million suffer from full-blown depression and another 5 million suffer from less severe forms of the illness.
  
  
• The risk of depression in the elderly increases with other illnesses and when ability to function becomes limited
  
  
• While people 65 and older account for 12 percent of the population, they represent 16 percent to 25 percent of suicides.
  
  
• Depression makes all other medical problems more difficult to treat.
  
  
• There is no single cause for depression.  It can be related to one or a combination of factors from a host of medical conditions and medications to injuries to environmental factors to substance abuse.
  
  
• Depression is not just a "blue" mood.  It is a very real and serious medical illness and, therefore, requires medical attention and treatment.
  
  
• Depression is not a normal or a necessary part of aging. 
  
  
• Although most depression in older adults is associated with a sad mood, it often presents as a preoccupation with somatic symptoms related to appetite changes, vague GI symptoms, constipation, and sleep disturbances.  Older adults are more likely than their younger counterparts to present with an agitated depression.
  
  
• There is no ironclad diagnostic test to identify depression. An evaluation usually starts with standard physical exam tests and work-ups to rule out other possible causes for the symptoms. Then the patient will participate in interviews to learn about his or her attitudes and behaviors.   
  
  
• Depression is often harder to recognize in the elderly than in their younger counterparts.
  
  
• The goal of treatment for depression is remission, not simply a lessening of symptoms.
  
  
• Depression is treatable in 65 to 80 percent of elderly patients.

The quick facts above were adapted from information available from National Institutes of Health; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute on Aging.