International psychogeriatrics
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Multicenter Study
Determinants of thoughts of death or suicide in depressed older persons.
In depressed persons, thoughts of death and suicide are assumed to represent different degrees of a construct: suicidality. However, this can be questioned in older persons facing physical and social losses. Thoughts of death in depressed older persons are hardly examined in the absence of suicidal ideation. Furthermore, most depression instruments do not discriminate suicidal ideation from thoughts of death only. We examined whether determinants of thoughts of death differ from determinants of suicidal ideation in late life depression. ⋯ In depressed older persons thoughts of death and suicide differ in relevant demographic, social, and clinical characteristics, suggesting that the risks and consequences of the two conditions differ.