The authors investigated the association of premorbidly-assessed disability and neuroticism with the onset of late-life depression in 86 depressed and 72 randomly selected control persons, originating front a 1993 Dutch community, study, of elderly, people, Compared with elderly people with average levels of disability, and neuroticism, people with low, levels were significantly less likely, to develop a depressive disorder High scorers, on the other hand, did not differ significantly,front the average group. Furthermore, the data tend to suggest that the increased risk for depression associated with disability was larger for patients with higher levels of neuroticism.