Too many elderly persons needlessly suffer from depression, officials tell a congressional briefing on hidden costs of depression in the elderly. About 6 million of 34 million Americans 65 and older suffer from some form of depression, says Michael Faenza, President of the National Mental Health Association.
Officials expect mental illnesses of all severities among the elderly to triple in coming years.
Faenza recalls how his father, who died last year, seemed to have suffered depression a good part of his life but didn t seek help until his 80 s. Geriatric Depression Amplifies Disabilities Psychiatrist Charles Reynolds, Director of the Intervention Research Center for Late-Life Mood Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh, says geriatric depression amplifies disabilities. Reynolds says the risk of geriatric depression is particularly high in those with arthritis, Alzheimer s, Parkinson s disease, stroke, cancer and chronic lung disease. Faenza tells us many of the 400,000 screened over the years are surprised when diagnosed with clinical depression. The problem is compounded in the elderly, where symptoms of depression can hide behind other illnesses that often accompany the aging process.