Medical News Today reports that researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have unveiled results from a study that they say has pinpointed the identifying factors in who, among those 65+, will be at greatest risk for major depression.

The researchers studied data from over 600 people aged 65+, who had no active diagnosis of depression. The subjects were given follow up interviews over a period of four years. Approximately 5 percent of the patients had an episode of major depression during that time.

The article reports report: “People with low-level depressive symptoms, who perceive that they have poor quality social support from other people, and with a past history of depression, were at particularly high risk to develop major depression within the one-to-four year time period of the study,” Lyness said. “This is good news, as we in the field are just learning how to prevent depression in particular high-risk groups. Future work will be able to test whether any of a variety of treatments – perhaps psychotherapy, perhaps medication, perhaps other things such as exercise – will help to prevent depression in persons suffering from the risks we identified in this study.”

Read the full article here.