Better Treatment, More Research Needed for Older Adults With Mental Disorders

Vanderbilt University's Center for Cognitive Medicine's Warren Taylor and the University of Pittsburgh's Charles Reynolds III contend in a commentary in JAMA Psychiatry that older adults use mental health services the least, in spite of the prevalence of mental problems, reports Healio . "Recent observations that the U.S. life expectancy has been decreasing are unlikely to change these trends," the authors note. "Instead, factors likely contributing to that decline, such as suicide, addiction, and medical conditions related to obesity, only highlight the need to better identify and treat mental disorders in older populations." Among Taylor and Reynolds' recommendations for future studies to consider are suicide prevention, preventive approaches for recurrent disorders, management of addiction-related complications, treatment of mental problems that adversely affect the outcomes of medical disorders, and further exploration of how mental disorders and cognitive decline/dementia risk are linked. Taylor and Reynolds also stress the need for better evidence-based therapy and early detection approaches, such as machine learning, to spot high-risk individuals. The authors also warn of little evidence on how to avoid future mood and anxiety episodes — which occur most often in older populations — while markers indicating recurrence apart from medical history are nonexistent. "Research in these areas requires transdisciplinary and translational team-based science, where psychiatrists and psychologists work with geroscientists, implementation scientists, and social scientists," Taylor and Reynolds conclude.