New research suggests up to 42 per cent of resident seniors suffer from the disease
By André Picard, Globe and Mail
A startling 44 per cent of the quarter-million seniors living in residential-care facilities are suffering from clinical depression, a new study shows.
Researchers found that 26 per cent of residents of nursing homes, personal care homes and long-term care facilities have been diagnosed with depression and another 18 per cent have clear symptoms but no documented diagnosis of depression.
"This study sheds light on the size of this problem," Nancy White, manager of home and continuing care development at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. "But I think the larger message is that we shouldn't accept depression as normal in residential care. It is an illness that can be treated."
