by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(May 12, 2008) A report issued this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that America’s senior population has the highest suicide rate in the country.
The report covered 16 states that provided full-year data for 2005. The report found the highest suicide rate to be among those between the ages of 75 and 84. Fifteen percent of all suicides were by men and women older than 65, even though this group represents only 12.4 percent of the population. Older men, who comprise just 10.5 percent of the male population, account for almost 17 percent of all male suicides.
“Suicide is frequently linked to depression, but among the elderly, depression is often overlooked,” said Dr. Thomas Cavalieri, interim dean of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, in a press release. “Too many people – including health professionals – think that depression is almost a normal part of aging, but that is a myth. Depression is a treatable condition, and that treatment can be the difference between life and death.”
Depression in the elderly can have many causes, he said, such as an underlying medical condition, reaction to the loss of a loved one, retirement, or an effect of a medication.
“The key is to recognize the symptoms and to get treatment before a tragedy occurs,” he said. “Even though younger people make more suicide attempts, older individuals are much more likely to succeed in their attempts.”
According to Dr. Cavalieri, symptoms of depression vary widely, but can include irritability, feelings of guilt or helplessness, loss of appetite, over- or under-eating, insomnia, sleeping too much, memory problems, recurrent thoughts of death or a lack of interest in activities that were once considered pleasurable. Treatment usually consists of prescription medications, counseling or a combination of both, he added.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) describes depression in the elderly as “a widely under-recognized and under-treated medical illness.”
They cite several studies which found that up to 75 percent of older adults who died by suicide had visited a primary care physician within a month of their death. These findings point to the urgency of improving detection and treatment of depression as a means of reducing suicide risk among older persons.
“Depression often co-occurs with other serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease,” says a report appearing on the NIMH website.
“Because many older adults face these illnesses as well as various social and economic difficulties, health care professionals may mistakenly conclude that depression is a normal consequence of these problems—an attitude often shared by patients themselves. These factors together contribute to the under-diagnosis and under-treatment of depressive disorders in older people. Depression can and should be treated when it co-occurs with other illnesses, for untreated depression can delay recovery from or worsen the outcome of these other illnesses.”
Both antidepressant medications and short-term psychotherapies are effective treatments for late-life depression, the NIMH reports. Their research has also found that certain types of short-term psychotherapy, particularly cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy, are effective treatments for late-life depression. However, combining psychotherapy with antidepressant medication appears to provide maximum benefit.
“In one study, approximately 80 percent of older adults with depression recovered with combination treatment. The combination treatment was also found to be more effective than either treatment alone in reducing recurrences of depression.”
The NIHM urges the elderly to tell their doctors if they are experiencing any of the symptoms of depression.
“Depression,” they stress, “is not a normal part of aging.”
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Women of Grace Study Question:
1) What is Church teaching regarding suicide? (See Nos. 2280-2283 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which can be viewed online at http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art5.htm)
