Why age is no defence when it comes to depression

EXPERTS TELL LISA SALMON MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS ARE JUST AS COMMON IN OLDER ADULTS AS IN YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT IT CAN BE HARDER TO SPOT

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DEPRESSION can hit at any age, and you're just as likely to get it in your later years as you are when you're younger.

In fact, the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) says depression is the most common mental health condition in later life, with around one in five experiencing it. Alexa Knight, a director for MHF, points out that more than half of all cases of depression in older adults are newly arising (late onset), meaning the people suffering from it have never experienced depression before.

“Depression doesn’t discriminate by age,” she says. “While its core symptoms remain similar, older adults often face unique challenges like physical health problems, loneliness, bereavement, and retirement, which can trigger depression.”

The Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrists says that among older people who died by suicide, 71-95% had a major psychiatric disorder, with depression being the most common, stressing: “Depressive symptoms are the strongest predictor of suicide in older people.”

Indeed, new research on depression by Bupa found 79% of people aged 55 years old and above who are suffering from depression say the condition makes them feel like nothing will get better, with 81% saying depression can be invisible, and 70% stressing they don’t think depression is understood.

And what doesn’t help older people with depression is that the condition can be harder to spot in older age groups, say the experts.

Michelle Hinchley, a Bupa specialist mental health nurse, explains: “Depression can affect people of all ages, but in older adults the symptoms may be less obvious.