The 9th Annual Bettye Rose Connell Memorial Lecture – Depression and Quality of Life in Late Life Chronic Illness

Depression remains the single most underdiagnosed and undertreated late life health problem and is the single biggest cause of reversible disability among older adults, according to this year’s Bettye Rose Connell Memorial Lecture speaker Patricia A. Parmelee, PhD, director of the Alabama Research Institute on Aging and professor of psychology at the University of Alabama. This finding stems from Parmelee’s Everyday Quality of Life in Blacks and Whites with Osteoarthritis (EQUAL) study which she featured in her presentation titled, “Depression and Quality of Life in Late Life Chronic Illness.”

“Overall, people over 65 are less likely to suffer major depression than younger adults,” Parmelee said. However, causes of late life depression are similar to the ones among younger people and include chronic illness, functional disability, social isolation and loneliness, stressful life events, and chronic ‘hassles’ of everyday life. “Depression isn’t just a diagnosis,” she said. “It’s a day to day experience.”

According to Parmelee, osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of pain and chronic disability in older adults. More than 80 percent of older adults show X-ray evidence of OA.

To gain a deeper understanding of how OA impacts seniors, Parmelee launched the EQUAL study and utilized a sample of 335 older adults with OA in Alabama and New York. The study found that, contrary to popular opinion, physical activity doesn’t relieve pain or depression, but people with lower levels of depression do have lower levels of pain.

“Late life depression is a pressing public health problem,” Parmelee said during the lecture. “Chronic health problems, particularly chronic pain, play a strong role in late life depression. Linkages among momentary mood, pain, and depression are complex, but they provide insight into when, where, and how to intervene to improve quality of life.”

As people grow older, they are almost certain to experience some aches and pains, and that can put them at risk for depression, Parmelee told attendees after the event. She said that the good news is that same everyday activities—being active, being with people, doing the things we really love do—can be a great antidote for depression.

Parmelee, who held faculty positions at Emory University School of Medicine and the Atlanta VA Medical Center before moving to University of Alabama, has been active in research and services for the elderly for 30 years and is internationally known for her work on quality of life and quality of care for chronically ill older adults. Her current research interests span three general areas: the interrelations of physical and mental health, with an emphasis on associations between pain, disability, and mental health in chronically ill older adults; interventions to support family caregivers; and quality of long-term care, particularly staffing issues in residential care settings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About the Bettye Rose Connell Lecture series

Bettye Rose Connell, PhD, served as a health research scientist in the Atlanta Rehabilitation Research and Development Center at the Atlanta VA Medical Center; director of research for the Atlanta site of the Birmingham/Atlanta VA Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center; and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics at Emory University. She served on both the Emory University Institutional Review Board and the Atlanta VA Research and Development Committee. The annual lecture commemorates Connell’s dedication to improving the lives of vulnerable elders.

The Bettye Rose Connell Memorial Lecture is intended to foster collaboration in scientific and clinical rehabilitation in physical environment, aging, and dementia and is made possible by the Bettye Rose Connell Memorial Lecture Series Fund. If you are interested in supporting the Bettye Rose Connell Lecture Series, please contact Jeff Verver at 404-727-7386 or jeff.verver@emory.edu. If you have suggestions for future lecture events, topics, or speakers, please contact the Lecture Series Committee Chair, Dr. Patricia C. Griffiths at pcgriff@emory.edu.