Often, however, the answer is not so simple in late life. Not infrequently, it may be confused with other co-existing chronic medical conditions.
Treatment is the easier part of the clinical quandary.
The challenge, stresses Borson, is that of sorting out a patients mood disorder from the effects of chronic physical disease and, possibly, the early or advancing signs of dementia. This is not an easy task for many physicians. The emerging specialty of geriatric psychiatry is addressing the specific psychiatric needs of the expanding senior population, a group that represents an increasing proportion of a typical practice. Not only is there limited knowledge of geriatric psychiatry on the part of physicians, there may also be barriers on the part of patients to recognizing depression, seeking appropriate therapy, and following through with long-term treatment. These individuals are less likely to describe themselves as depressed, even in the face of debilitating signs, or to seek treatment.