Mental changes shouldn't be chalked up to just getting old: depression in the elderly.(News)

NEW ORLEANS -- Much about us declines as we age, but not all mental changes in the elderly should be chalked up to old age, Dr. Raymond M. Pomm said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

"What we don't want to do is get into thinking or saying 'oh, it's just old age' because when you start noticing these changes that's when you have to really start paying attention for mood disorders," he said.

Older adults are more likely to underreport psychological symptoms. Depression can be accompanied by cognitive impairment, which mimics dementia. Depression also frequently occurs in the context of other medical disorders in this …