Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts

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Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts

Nearly 2 million of the 34 million Americans ages 65 and older suffer from depression, but doctors and patients may have trouble recognizing its signs. To help identify and promote discussion of depression during medical visits, the Administration on Aging (AoA) is joining the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in a widespread dissemination of its new fact sheet, "Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts".

The fact sheet includes a cue card of symptoms for older adults entitled, "Before You Say, I'm Fine" which helps professionals recognize signs of depression, reduce suicide risk in older adults, and promote treatment. It presents questions for older adults to ask themselves, such as if they feel nervous or empty, guilty or worthless, or whether life seems worth living. If their answers indicate that they are depressed, the card suggests talking to a doctor.

"Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts" is promoted on the NIMH Website at www.nimh.nih.gov and on the AoA Website at www.aoa.gov. In addition, AoA, will disseminate the fact sheet to its national aging network of 57 State Offices on Aging and 655 Area Agencies on Aging.

Major depression, a significant predictor of suicide in elderly Americans, is a widely under-recognized and under-treated medical illness. According to one study, many older adults who commit suicide have visited their primary care physician very close to the time of the suicide: 20 percent on the same day, 40 percent within one week, and 70 percent within one month of the suicide.

Older Americans are disproportionately likely to commit suicide. Comprising only 13 percent of the U.S. population, individuals ages 65 and older account for 20 percent of all suicide deaths, with white males being particularly vulnerable. The highest rate is for white men ages 85 and older: 65 deaths per 100,000 persons in 1996 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), about 6 times the national U.S. rate of 10.8 per 100,000.

http://www.demko.com/m990823.htm

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