With the advances in medical science over the last century, there has been a huge increase in life expectancy. The world is seeing an unprecedented number of people progressing into ‘old age’ with relatively few major physical ailments. The physical concerns of geriatrics aside, supporting their mental health has become more important than ever. How important is it to tackle mental depression in the elderly? How common is Dementia and what are the problems patients and caregivers face? We bring you the answers to these and other questions from Physician Debanjan Bandyopadhyay, a psychiatrist at Apollo Multispeciality Hospital.

As people get older, many of them fall prey to increasing depression. But for various reasons, this often goes unnoticed. As a result, patients' problems tend to further increase. Statistics show that people aged 60 and over are more likely to suffer from geriatric issues. According to physician Devanjan Banerjee, most of these people suffer from diseases like anxiety, depression or dementia, conditions which go untreated in most cases. And this is an ever-increasing problem.

A national mental health study conducted in 2015-16 found that only 15 percent of people who suffer from mental health problems receive proper treatment. This rate is even lower in the case of the elderly. Dr Banerjee says, we all expect good behaviour and respect from people, and this especially true in the case of the elderly. But in today’s fast paced world, this factor is usually overlooked. But Dr Banerjee’s advice is that we should make it a point to look into this aspect if we want to make this country a better place for the elderly. Mental health struggles have been shown to increase osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension, blood pressure, etc. And where the elderly are concerned, it is very important to be able to keep all of these in check.

Adult depression can have many causes, such as social self-isolation, loneliness, grief, poverty, physical disability, lack of self-confidence, etc. In addition, the Covid situation of the last two years has exacerbated this problem. Dr Banerjee gives us the solution. He says that those people stay and interact with the elderly must show more sensitivity. The need of the hour is to stand with the elderly, and care for their mental and physical health as and when needed.

The last three decades have seen ground-breaking changes in psychiatric treatment and the Apollo Multispeciality Hospital in Kolkata has been a torchbearer in this revolution. The treatment of geriatric depression has improved greatly, it is now readily available and a lot more effective. Dr Banerjee stresses on the fact that the elderly need to be noticed – if you see a geriatric around you who you feel may be suffering from mental health issues, reach out and assist them in finding help. If the elderly are to live with dignity, then it is imperative to prevent geriatric depression. And we can make that possible.

The report was published in a joint venture with Apollo Multispeciality Hospital.