Depression common in elderly

Depression is a common, but not a normal response to advancing age. End of life issues and loss of independence due to frailty and declining health bring about mental illness all too commonly in the elderly population. Depression is the most prevalent mental illness. Depressed people lose motivation to eat, sleep, participate in everyday activities, or care for themselves. Other common forms of mental illness in the elderly include anxiety and memory loss. Mental illness is usually focused through a physical complaint, which distracts both the patient and the doctor from the true cause. Without identification of the mental illness and adequate treatment, a large number of the elderly commit suicide. The lack of appropriately trained physicians in the area of geriatrics contributes to this inadequacy. The elderly respond just as well as younger patients to treatment for their mental illness in the form of medication and therapy, but are less likely to receive it. New services designed towards provisions for mental illness in the elderly and education for doctors and carers of the elderly are being implemented to improve the care of the aging population.

Source: summary of medical news story as reported by The Morning Call

Related Disease Topics:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Mental illness

Related Symptom Topics:

• Depression
• Loss of motivation
• Sleep loss
• Loss of appetite
• Loss of interest
• Memory loss
• Anxiety
• Suicide

Article Source Details

About: Depression common in elderly

Date: 22 May 2005

Source: The Morning Call

Author: Kelly O'Shea Carney

URL: http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/all-carneymay22,0,102402.story?coll=all-newsopinion-hed

Related Medical Topics

This summary article refers to the following medical categories:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Memory loss
• Geriatrics
• Mental illness
• End of life
• Diagnosis and depression
• Diagnosis and anxiety
• Diagnosis and memory loss
• Diagnosis and geriatrics
• Diagnosis and aged
• Undiagnosed and depression
• Undiagnosed and anxiety
• Undiagnosed and suicide
• Undiagnosed and mental illness
• Undiagnosed and memory loss
• Undiagnosed and poor health
• Undiagnosed and loss of interest
• Undiagnosed and insomnia
• Undiagnosed and loss of motivation
• Undiagnosed and geriatrics
• Undiagnosed and aged
• Underdiagnosed and depression
• Underdiagnosed and anxiety
• Underdiagnosed and suicide
• Underdiagnosed and mental illness
• Underdiagnosed and poor health
• Underdiagnosed and memory loss
• Underdiagnosed and loss of interest
• Underdiagnosed and insomnia
• Underdiagnosed and loss of motivation
• Underdiagnosed and geriatrics
• Underdiagnosed and aged
• Death from suicide
• Death from depression
• Risk and geriatrics
• Risk and aged
• Risk and end of life
• Risk and depression
• Risk and anxiety
• Risk and memory loss
• Risk and suicide
• Risk and poor health

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