The chemicals which brain cells use to communicate with each other, called neurotransmitters, become out of balance. This happens in young and old alike and is always abnormal. Particular patterns in the elderly Depression has particular causes and shows particular patterns in the elderly. For example, it is much more common in the years after retirement, when people may struggle to adjust to a new role and routine in life. It is then less likely for the next decade until the mid seventies, when factors like chronic illness, frequent loss of peers and friends and increasing restrictions on mobility may be factors.
Depression is also has a different pattern of symptoms in older people compared to the young.
Anxiety is particularly common, while the slowing of thought and activity which is a feature of depression at any age is more prominent in older people. Older people tend to have more bodily symptoms although it can be difficult to work out whether these are symptoms of depression or simply part of the increase in general illness seen with age. For example, they are more likely to battle with weakness, headache, palpitations, loss of interest in sex, abdominal or back pain, shortness of breath and constipation, to name a few typical symptoms. Imaginary illness and hallucinations are also more common. Similarly deterioration in mental function can occur with depression at 18 or 88, but young people have greater mental reserves, so these problems often show up more in older people.