MOOD DISORDERS
American Psychological Association
Table of Contents
Why Practitioners Need Information
- Major depressive disorder affects about 1 percent of older adults, and dysthymia, about 2 percent. Major depressive disorder is the most common late onset psychological problem.
- Mania in late life does occur in the absence of acute medical precipitants. However, not enough is known about bipolar disorder in older adults, and it may be that it is underdiagnosed in adults over the age of 60.
- Mood disorders may present differently in older than in younger adults. For example, compared to younger adults, depressed older adults are more likely to have anxiety, agitation, memory problems, and bodily complaints. They are less likely to complain of depression or feeling sad. Feeling hopeless is often an important indicator of depression among the elderly.
- About 20 percent of older individuals living in the community report clinically significant depressive symptoms that do not reach criteria for a diagnosis of mood disorder. They fall into the diagnostic categories of dysthymic disorder or adjustment disorder with depressive features. Certain high-risk groups of older adults have a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms and syndromes, including medical outpatients, inpatients, and those in long-term care settings.
- The highest suicide rate of any age group is found in older adults, primarily older Caucasian men who live alone, for whom suicide increases dramatically from age 65 to 85 and older.
