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Background: To reveal characteristics of understand­ing of depression among older patients, we reanalyzed the data from a previous study of patients who were administered antide­pressants.Methods: A total of 424 outpatients were enrolled in this study. We used an original self-administered questionnaire consisting of eight items: depressive symptoms, the course of depression, the cause of depression, the treatment plan, the duration of antide­pressant use, how to discontinue antidepressants, the side effects of antidepressants, and psychotherapy. Each item consisted of the following two questions: "Have you received an explanation from the doctor in charge?" and "How much do you understand about your treatment?". The level of understanding was rated on a scale of 0–10 (11 anchor points). Subjects were divided into two groups: younger patients who were <65 years of age and older patients who were ≥65 years of age. Results: Older patients with depression showed lower levels of understanding of depression and did not receive sufficient psychoeducation from their physicians, but their understanding of depression might not be associated with their remission. In the younger group, the scores of understanding of the course of depression, the treatment plan, how to discontinue antidepressants, and psychotherapy items, and the total understanding score of remitters, were significantly higher than those of non-remitters. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the items score or total score between remitters and non-remitters in the older group.Conclusion: Older patients showed lower levels of understanding of depression and did not appear to receive sufficient psychoeducation, but their understanding of depression might not be associated with their remission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We analyzed data on the understanding of depression among patients who were prescribed antidepressants to determine when psychoeducation should be provided. Patients and methods: A total of 424 outpatients were enrolled in this study. We used an original self-administered questionnaire consisting of eight categories: (A) depressive symptoms, (B) the course of depression, (C) causes of depression, (D) the treatment plan, (E) the duration of antidepressant use, (F) discontinuation of antidepressants, (G) the side effects of antidepressants, and (H) psychotherapy. Each category was assessed with the following two questions: "Have you received an explanation of this topic from the doctor in charge?" and "How much do you understand about your treatment?" The level of understanding of patients was rated on a scale from 0 to 10 (no understanding to full understanding; 11 anchor points). Symptoms were evaluated using the Quick Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology, Japanese version (QIDS-J) and other scales. Participants were divided into two groups: patients receiving psychoeducation at their first visit vs patients receiving psychoeducation after their first visit. Results: Of the patients who had received an explanation of each psychoeducation item, a greater proportion were in the first visit group than in the after first visit group for nearly all items. Compared with the after first visit group, the first visit group showed a better understanding of each psychoeducation item and significantly lower QIDS scores for those receiving explanations of Items A and C. There was no significant difference between the two groups in remittance rates. Conclusion: Psychoeducation on depression, especially regarding the symptoms and causes of depression, should be provided at patients' first visit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]