Depression: Mortality and Other Adverse Outcomes

Dan Blazer

The association between depression and mortality has been well established in both clinical studies and studies of community samples of adults. In clinical samples, the lifetime risk of suicide has been estimated to be as high as 15% for persons with unipolar or bipolar depression (though some question the magnitude of this risk). In addition, depression is known to increase the risk for nonsuicide mortality, especially mortality secondary to cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms by which depression leads to an increased risk for nonsuicide mortality, however, have yet to be determined and probably involve multiple, independent feedback loops, such as the association of depression and functional disability over time. The association of depression with suicide, nonsuicide mortality, and functional status are reviewed below. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, although the overall rate of between 11 and 12 per 100,000 annually has not changed appreciably ...

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