Clinical aspects of depression in the elderly

The depressive states of the elderly are frequent and difficult to diagnose due mainly to their clinical heterogeneity. One of the reasons for the increase in the rate of suicide in the over 80 years is probably the non-recognition of depressive states. Thymic and affective complaints frequently occur with advancing age and are too often attributed to the consequences of normal aging, which is accompanied by the successive losses that characterize old age. However, we must insist on the need to recognize the existence of a thymic disorder that we can treat because the latter will cause, in addition to excessive suffering but also a significant handicap in the daily operation from subject. We will try in this article to highlight the specificities of this pathology in the elderly and its management.