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  • ​An estimated 20% of older adults in the community and 50% of older adults in inpatien​t medical and long-term care settings experience clinically significant depressive symptoms 6.  
  • Depression is associated with increased risk of multiple physical health problems and mortality including suicide, in older adults 5.  
  • In primary care settings, 17-30% of geriatric patients have a depressive disorder 7.  
  • Most older adults seek treatment first from their primary care physician8, contributing to the estimated 50-75% of all primary care visits focusing on a mental health concern.  
  • Unfortunately, physicians rarely have the training or time to adequately assess and treat mental health problems9.  Bartels10 found that many mental health problems in older adults go undetected by primary care providers, and primary care clinics rarely employ mental health providers to address this issue11.  
  • Psychotherapy and antidepressant medication  have both been found to be highly effective in treating older adult depression and anxiety.
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  • One in four older adults has a significant mental disorder 1.  
  • Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse frequently co-occur with physical illnesses, either as precipitating or exacerbating factors.  
  • Depression is evident in 39 to 47 percent of older adults being treated for cancer, heart attack, or stroke.   
  • Chronic financial burden, crime and violence exposure, and instability in housing environments are associated with increased risk of depression 2-4.
  • Chicago has been characterized as one of America’s most segregated cities, with many neighborhoods characterized by black and Hispanic populations living in concentrated pockets of poverty.    In addition to lowered socioeconomic status, these neighborhoods are also characterized by remarkable health disparities relative to wealthier, predominantly white neighborhoods only a few miles away.   Aging is often associated with worsening of health disparities. The most vulnerable subpopulation among the urban poor are the elderly, as they are naturally vulnerable due to old age, compounded by lifetime exposure to poverty, and diminished defenses against violence in their homes or neighborhoods, including routes to health service providers.   
  • Psychotherapy and antidepressant medication  have both been found to be highly effective in treating older adult depression and anxiety, regardless of ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
Citations:
  1. Jeste, D.V., Alexopolous, G.S., Bartels, S.J., Cummings J.L., Gallo, J.J., Gottlieb, G.L., et al. (1999). Consensus Statement on the Upcoming Crisis in Geriatric Mental Health. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 848-853.
  2. Arean, P., & Alvidrez, J. (2001). The prevalence of psyc​​hiatric disorders and subsyndromal mental illness in low-income, medically ill elderly. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 31(1), 9-24.
  3. Krause, N., & Baker, E. (1992). Financial strain, economic values, and somatic symptoms in later life. Psychology and Aging, 7(1), 4-14.
  4. Rothermund, K., & Brandtstadter, J. (2003). Depression in later life: Cross-sequential patterns and possible determinants.  Psychology and Aging, 18(1), 80-90.
  5. Karel, M.J., Ogland-Hand, S. & Gatz, M. (2002).  Assessing and treating late-life depression.  New York: Basic Books.
  6. American Psychological Association. (2003). Facts about depression in older adults. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from http://www.apa.org/ppo/issues/olderdepressfact.html
  7. Alexopoulos, G.S. (1996). Geriatric depression in primary care. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11(5), 397-400.
  8. Klap, R., Tschantz, K., & Unützer, J. (2003). Caring for mental disorders in the United States: A focus on older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 11, 517–524. 
  9. Simon, G.E., Goldberg, D., Tiemens, B.G., & Ustun, T.B. (1999). Outcomes of recognized and unrecognized depression in an international primary care study. General Hospital Psychiatry, 21(2), 97-105.
  10. Bartels, S.J. (2003). Improving the system of care for older adults with mental illness in the United States: Findings and recommendations for the president’s new freedom commission on mental health. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11(5), 486-497.
  11. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Mental health: A report of the surgeon general.  Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health.