Improving services and support for older people with mental health ...

Improving services and support for older people with mental health problems
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People with severe mental health problems are more likely to have physical health
problems such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The majority of older people with schizophrenia live in their own homes.
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In one study, 55 per cent of older people with schizophrenia lived in the community,
30 per cent in care homes and 15 per cent in long stay psychiatric wards or
community hospitals. 105
The economic costs of schizophrenia in later life are not known. Research on younger
people shows that public expenditure on each person who is newly diagnosed with
schizophrenia is £23,000 per patient per year for the first five years. 106 If this figure is
applied to the total number of older people with schizophrenia in the UK, it suggests a
cost of around £1.5 billion per year.
2.8 Alcohol and drug misuse
There are no definitive prevalence statistics on alcohol and drug misuse in later life
due to variations in the populations sampled and the methods of detection used.
There are also inconsistencies in the terms used, including consumption, use, misuse,
overuse, abuse, dependence and addiction. The distinction between intentional and
unintentional misuse is also often unclear.
Alcohol misuse is estimated to affect between two and 15 per cent of older
people living in the community. 107 In clinical settings, estimates range from four to
23 per cent. 108
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Symptoms of alcohol misuse include accidents, malnutrition, self-neglect,
depression, insomnia, and confusion. These can be hard to distinguish from
symptoms of other health problems.
Ten to 30 per cent of older people who misuse alcohol become depressed. 109 In
one study, nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of older people discharged from a
psychiatric hospital who had been diagnosed with alcohol or drug problems also
had depression. 110
Older men are more likely to misuse alcohol than women. Older Irish men are at
particularly high risk of both alcohol problems and depression. 111
On average, older people consume less alcohol than younger people but have higher
rates of alcohol-related deaths.
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People aged 65 and over consume fewer units of alcohol per week than younger
people, but they drink more frequently. Older people are more likely than younger
people to drink every day. 112
While moderate intake may have a beneficial effect on health, older people are
more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than younger people, due to
a slower metabolism and the potential for adverse interactions with
prescribed medications.
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