Wednesday 11 October 2017

Half of older adults have experienced mental health problems, says Age UK

Half of older adults have experienced mental health problems, says Age UK Half of adults aged 55 and over have experienced common mental health problems, say Age UK.

The charity is joining forces with NHS England to encourage older people to seek help and is calling on GPs to spot the warning signs.

Nearly half of adults (7.7million) aged 55+ say they have experienced depression and around the same number (7.3 million) have suffered with anxiety, according to new YouGov research for the charity Age UK – revealing the scale of the mental health challenge facing older people in the UK today.

The death of loved ones (36 per cent) ill health of themselves (24%) and financial worries (27 per cent) are the most common triggers for mental health problems, yet worryingly more than a third (35%) say they did not know where to go for help and support. This comes as NHS England has published new guidance – ‘Mental health in older people‘ – to help GPs spot the tell-tale signs of anxiety and depression, and identify a range of mental health problems including those which specifically affect older people. NHS England

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