Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: In 2012, 810 million adults aged 60 and older constituted 11.5 per cent of the world population. The older adult population will grow to one billion by 2020 and to two billion by 2050, or 22 per cent of the world population, with 400 million of them 80 years and older1. Growth in the number of older adults is a cause for celebrating tremendous improvements in health and other quality of life indicators across the globe. This rapidly advancing “silver tsunami” also brings serious challenges to many countries’ already overburdened pension and healthcare systems. The unprecedented growth of the 85-and-older group presents a serious challenge as 25-30 per cent of them have some degree of cognitive impairment1. Healthcare and social service systems in both developing and developed countries are not adequately equipped to care for the growing number of older adults with Alzheimer's disease and other neurocognitive disorders, and the toll on older adults’ informal support systems is just beginning to be understood. Another significant challenge of an ageing society that has been largely hidden from public view and receives little attention from policymakers is mental health and substance use (MH/SU) care for older adults. This editorial addresses the scope of older adults’ MH (focusing on depression and anxiety) and SU problems, the current state of evidence-based practice, and recommendations for care.
Source: PubMed Central
Authors: Namkee G Choi, Diana M DiNitto
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1907874261