loss. Finally, older people tend to have more anxiety present in their depression than younger patients do (winter 1996).In the natural order of things, bodies tend to wear down somewhat and people become higher risk candidates for various health problems. It is the increase in health problems that allows for some symptoms of depression to be overlooked. Doctors begin to attribute all problems and ailments to the primary problem, neglecting the possibility of depression. The prevalence of low blood pressure is one of those items that do increase as an individual ages. The correlation of depression with low blood pressure also increases as time passes, particularly among men. A study by Barrett-Connor and Palinkas indicated men with low blood pressure scored significantly higher on both the emotional and physical items of a depression test (February 1994). These same individuals also scored higher on measures of pessimism, sadness, loss of appetite, weight loss, and preoccupation with health than did people with normal blood pressure. Some believe that because low blood pressure can cause fatigue, anyone with these two symptoms could possibly be diagnosed with depression. This is a snowball effect where the low blood pressure causes the fatigue, which in turn causes someone to feel useless, which further develops into other possible depressed symptoms. An interesting side note to this study was that the low blood pressure found in the patients was not directly related to any chronic health condition (February 1994).Low blood pressure is not the only risk factor for the development of depression. Some other factors include losses dealing with jobs, status, finances, physical ability, or relocation. Family problems dealing with divorce, siblings, children, or a death can also send one on a downward spiral. Changes in the brain such as decreased adaptive capacity, neurotransmitter and receptor changes, cognitive impairment, an...
