BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Approximately 1 in 20 U.S. adults age 50 and over have depression 1 More than half of these older adults have depression with severe impairment 1 Depression exerts significant morbidity in older African Americans (AA) by worsening health conditions and exacerbating disability 2 This analysis examines the frequency and types of antidepressant medications reported at baseline in a randomized clinical trial of the Beat the Blues (BTB) non-pharmacological depression program for older AA METHODS Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) 5 : a nine-symptom checklist that assessed depression Patients were enrolled in the BTB trial during 2009 and 2010 Eligibility criteria consisted of the following: Had depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score > 5) Were African American > 55 years old English speaking Cognitively intact (mini Mental Status Exam > 24) Medications for depression, anxiety, sleep, memory, and pain were documented Medication data were reviewed post hoc by a pharmacist to ensure accurate name and pharmacological classification This analysis reports baseline data Chi-squared and independent t-tests were used to analyze discrete and continuous variables, respectively RESULTS 129 participants were included in the analysis (Figure 1): -25 participants reported taking an antidepressant (AD group; 19.4%) -104 participants did not report taking an antidepressant (NAD group; 80.6%) A total of 28 antidepressant prescriptions were reported (Figure 2) AD participants were statistically similar to NAD in terms of age, gender, marital status, number of co-morbid medical conditions, depression category, and mean PHQ-9 score (Table 1) Table 1: Characteristics of Participants at Baseline RESULTS, CONTINUED * Participants reporting antidepressants were significantly more likely to also report an anxiolytic (p=0.027) PANEL DISCLOSURE Funding Disclosure: this study was supported by U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. RC1 AG036413) Authors of this presentation have the following to disclose concerning possible financial or personal relationships with commercial entities that may have a direct or indirect interest in the subject matter of this presentation: Tom Karagiannis, Gina Bellottie, Amanda Birnschein, Laura Pizzi, and Laura Gitlin all have nothing to disclose REFERENCES 1. Major Depression with Severe Impairment among Adults. National Institute of Health. Available at: Accessed on October 25, Lenze EJ, Rogers JC, Martire LM, et al. The association of late-life depression and anxiety with physical disability: A review of the literature and prospectus for future research. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2001;9(2): Gitlin LN, Harris LF, McCoy M, Chernett NL, Jutkowitz E, Pizzi LT. A community integrated home based depression intervention for older African Americans: description of the Beat the Blues randomized trial and intervention costs. BMC Geriatrics. 2012;12(4): Gitlin LN, Fields Harris L, McCoy M, Chernett NL, Pizzi LT, Jutkowitz E, Hess E, Hauck W. A Home-based Intervention to Reduce Depressive Symptoms and Improve Quality of Life in Older African Americans: The Beat the Blues Randomized Trial. Annals of Internal Medicine 2013:159(4): Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Inter Med. 2001;16(9): Patterns of medication use in older African Americans with depression: results from the Beat the Blues randomized clinical trial Tom Karagiannis, PharmD 1 ; Gina D. Bellottie, PharmD 2 ; Amanda Birnschein 2 ; Laura T. Pizzi, PharmD, MPH 2 ; Laura N. Gitlin, PhD 3 Jefferson School of Population Health 2. Jefferson School of Pharmacy 3. Center for Innovative Care in Aging, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Presented at the 49 th ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition, Anaheim, California, December 9, EVALUATION & CONCLUSION In this sample of depressed older African Americans, only one- fifth reported an antidepressant at baseline Participants on antidepressants were statistically similar to those not on antidepressants, including their PHQ-9 depression score, though small groups limit our ability to examine these differences As accessible health professionals, pharmacists can play a role in identifying unmet treatment needs in depressed older adults and create linkages to non-pharmacological approaches like Beat the Blues What is Beat the Blues? 3 A non-pharmacological depression program designed for older AA Participants receive up to 10 sessions that integrated five treatment components previously shown effective and modified in BTB to resonate with cultural preferences Components included: 1.Case management 2.Referral and linkages to care and services 3.Depression education 4.Stress reduction techniques 5.Behavioral activation In this randomized control trial, more Beat the Blues participants entered remission of depressive symptoms at four months, versus wait list controls (43.8% vs. 26.9%) 4 Table 2: Participants Reporting each Type of Medication (n=25)