Abstract
OBJECTIVES: More than half of older adults with major depressive disorder require extended treatment because of incomplete response during acute treatment. This study characterizes the effect of anxiety on remission during extended treatment for partial responders. METHODS: Following 6 weeks of escitalopram 10 mg/day+depression care management (DCM), 124 partial responders (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) scores of 11-14) were randomly assigned to receive extended treatment with escitalopram 20 mg/day+DCM with or without interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for 16 weekly sessions. Remission was defined as three consecutive weekly scores