Wellness

Dementia and Depression Among the Elderly A Public Health Issues

Senior Moments Pic of elderly couple

Dementia

Dementia is a syndrome in which there is deterioration in memory, thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities. It mainly affects older people, although it is not a normal part of ageing.

It is estimated that 35.6 million people worldwide are living with dementia. The total number of people with dementia is projected to almost double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050, with majority of sufferers living in low- and middle-income countries.

There are significant social and economic issues in terms of the direct costs of medical, social and informal care associated with dementia. Moreover, physical, emotional and economic pressures can cause great stress to families. Support is needed from the health, social, financial and legal systems for both people with dementia and their caregivers.

Senior Moments pic of black woman

Depression

Depression can cause great suffering and leads to impaired functioning in daily life. Unipolar depression occurs in 7% of the general elderly population and it accounts for 1.6% of total disability (DALYs) among over 60 year olds.1 Depression is both under diagnosed and undertreated in primary care settings. Symptoms of depression in older adults are often overlooked and untreated because they coincide with other late life problems.

Older adults with depressive symptoms have poorer functioning compared to those with chronic medical conditions such as lung disease, hypertension or diabetes. Depression also increases the perception of poor health, the utilization of medical services and health care costs.

Treatment and care strategies

It is important to prepare health providers and societies to meet the specific needs of older populations, including:

  • training for health professionals in old-age care;
  • preventing and managing age-associated chronic diseases including mental, neurological and substance use disorders;
  • designing sustainable policies on long-term and palliative care; and
  • developing age-friendly services and settings.
Health promotion

Mental health of older adults can be improved through promoting active and healthy ageing. Mental health-specific health promotion for the older adults involves creating living conditions and environments that support wellbeing and allow people to lead healthy and integrated lifestyles. Promoting mental health depends largely on strategies which ensure the elderly have the necessary resources to meet their basic needs, such as:

  • providing security and freedom;
  • adequate housing through supportive housing policy;
  • social support for elderly populations and their caregivers;
  • health and social programmes targeted at vulnerable groups such as those who live alone, rural populations or who suffer from a chronic or relapsing mental or physical illness;
  • violence or older adults maltreatment prevention programmes; and
  • community development programmes.
Interventions

Prompt recognition and treatment of mental, neurological and substance use disorders in older adults is essential. Both psychosocial interventions and medicines are recommended.

There is no medication currently available to cure dementia but much can be done to support and improve the lives of people with dementia and their caregivers and families, such as:

  • early diagnosis, in order to promote early and optimal management;
  • optimizing physical and psychological health, including identifying and treating; accompanying physical illness, increasing physical and cognitive activity and optimizing well-being;
  • detecting and managing challenging behavioural and psychological symptoms;
  • providing information and long-term support to caregivers.
Mental health care in the community

Good general health and social care is important for promoting older people’s health, preventing disease and managing chronic illnesses. Training all health providers in working with issues and disorders related to ageing is therefore important. Effective, community-level primary mental health care for older people is crucial. It is equally important to focus on the long-term care of older adults suffering from mental disorders, as well as to provide caregivers with education, training and support.

An appropriate and supportive legislative environment based on internationally accepted human rights standards is required to ensure the highest quality of services to people with mental illness and their caregivers.

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