Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Rates of Mood and Anxiety Disorders Decline with Age
but Still Affect Many Older Adults
Given the rapid aging of the U.S. population, the
potential public health burden of late-life mental health disorders will
likely grow as well
May 3, 2010 - Rates of mood and anxiety disorders
appear to decline with age but the conditions remain common in older
adults, especially women, according to a report in the May issue of
Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Knowledge of the prevalence of mood and anxiety
disorders and co-existing mood-anxiety disorder in older
community-dwelling adults is important; these are hidden and
undertreated but treatable disorders associated with poor health
outcomes," the authors write as background information in the article.
Amy L. Byers, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the University of
California, San Francisco, and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, and colleagues determined nationally representative estimates of
mood, anxiety and combined mood and anxiety disorders using a sample of
2,575 survey participants age 55 and older.
Of this group, 43 percent were ages 55 to 64; 32
percent, 65 to 74 years; 20 percent, 75 to 84 years; and 5 percent, 85
years or older.
A total of 5 percent of participants had a mood
disorder, including major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder,
within the previous year. Rates of anxiety disorders - such as panic
disorder, agoraphobia, other phobias, generalized anxiety disorder and
posttraumatic stress disorder - were 12 percent overall. About 3 percent
had co-occurring mood and anxiety disorders.
Prevalence of all the conditions declined with age.
When comparing age groups, persons age 55 to 64
with those age 85 and older;
● 7.6 percent vs. 2.4 percent had mood disorders,
● 16.6 percent vs. 8.1 percent had anxiety disorders, and
● 4.8 percent vs. 0 percent had both conditions.
Women were more likely to have any of the disorders
than men;
● 6.4 percent of women and 3 percent of men had mood disorders,
● 14.7 percent of women and 7.6 percent of men had anxiety disorders,
and
● 3.7 of women and 1.6 percent of men had both.
"The study of nationally representative samples
provides evidence for research and policy planning that helps to define
community-based priorities for future psychiatric research," the authors
write.
"The findings of this study emphasize the
importance of individual and co-existing mood and anxiety disorders when
studying older adults, even the oldest cohorts. Further study of risk
factors, course and severity is needed to target intervention,
prevention and health care needs."
"Given the rapid aging of the U.S. population, the
potential public health burden of late-life mental health disorders will
likely grow as well, suggesting the importance of continued
epidemiologic monitoring of the mental health status of the young-old,
mid-old, old-old and oldest-old cohorts," they conclude.
