Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered a series of indicators associated with the development of depression in nursing home residents, according to a study published in the Journal of Gerontological Nursing.
Increased verbal aggression, urinary incontinence, increased pain, weight loss, changes in care needs, reduced cognitive ability, and decline in performance of daily living activities, not surprisingly, contributed to depression.
Residents with increased verbal aggression were 69% more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Researchers analyzed 14,000 nursing home residents aged 65 and older who were not diagnosed with depression at the beginning of the study.
I’m not sure if you needed a scientific study to know that all of these things are connected. It’s no different than if my 89-year-old mom was faced with not being able to drive any longer. I think that would be grounds for depression, don’t you?
Am I missing something here? Does common sense have any role in how we practice medicine?