Late-Life Depression Risk Factors and Prevention Costs in the Netherlands

A population-based cohort study in the Netherlands tracked 2,200 community residents aged 55 to 85 over 3 years. The research, led by Filip Smit of the Trimbos Institute, measured the onset of clinically relevant depression using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. It calculated indices of potential health gain and required costs for various risk factors to identify cost-effective prevention strategies.

Use Cases

• Modeling depression risk scores based on demographic and health factors mentioned in the description
• Analyzing cost-effectiveness of prevention strategies for high-risk groups based on calculated health gain indices
• Training predictive models for late-life depression onset using epidemiological cohort data

Strengths

• Study includes 2,200 participants, with 1,925 not depressed at baseline, providing a clear at-risk cohort.
• Longitudinal design with a 3-year follow-up period for tracking depression onset.
• Analysis incorporates both health outcomes and economic cost indices for prevention strategies.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the underlying dataset is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Trimbos Institute

Collection Method

Population-based cohort study

Time Range

3-year study period

Geography

General population in the Netherlands