@article{oai:jichi-ir.repo.nii.ac.jp:00000433,
 author = {Shimizu, Kanako and Kobayashi, Toshiyuki and Suda, Shiro},
 journal = {自治医科大学紀要, Jichi Medical University Journal},
 month = {Mar},
 note = {Background: Prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a new category related to bereavement, is a prolongation of grief and is distinct from depression, although its symptoms such as depressive state and a strong desire to die resemble those of depression. Until the concept of PGD was raised, many clinicians did not recognize PGD and regarded it as a form of depression. Here we examined the prevalence of PGD among older inpatients with and without PGD following their bereavement, and we analyzed the patients' clinical features.
Methods: We examined all depressive patients >50 years old who were admitted to the psychiatric ward of Jichi Medical University Hospital between January 2009 and December 2014. The concomitant depression with PGD was assessed based on the proposed diagnosis of persistent complex grief disorder in DSM-5 and the Brief Grief Questionnaire.
Results: Twenty-eight individuals (75.7%) consented to participate. The prevalence of PGD with depression was 57.1%. All individuals had lost a close relative. Suicide death, sudden death and death from chronic disease among the deceased relatives were more frequent in the PGD group than the non-PGD group. The rate of females, somatic symptoms in a limited body area, the use of tricyclic antidepressants or tetracyclic antidepressants, and lower number of educational years were more prevalent in the PGD group compared to the non-PGD group. The mean Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF-F) score at discharge was significantly lower in the PGD group.
Conclusions: PGD was prevalent in the patients with late-life depression following the death of a close relative. The development of PGD appears to be affected by both the death of a close relative and the cause of that relative's death. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of concomitant PGD with depression, especially among older patients who respond poorly to antidepressant treatments.},
 pages = {1--8},
 title = {The prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in late-life depression and its clinical features in Japan},
 volume = {40},
 year = {2018}
}