Psychological problems of older adults arising out of emotional, physical and financial insecurities will be the focus of the Mental Health Fortnight organised by an institute of mental health in the city between Oct. 4 and 18.
"As many as 75 per cent of people above the age of 75 years have diagnosable mental health problems. Disorders affecting 10-20 per cent of the older population often go undiagnosed and untreated as the symptoms are often unrecognised.
"Consequently, their quality of life suffers due to hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and others," said Dr Sunil Mittal, psychiatrist and Chief Managing Director of Cosmos Institute of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences (CIMBS).
Anxiety and depression are also linked to memory and can cause cognitive decline with ageing. There is strong medical evidence that chronic, untreated depression can lead to dementia and worsening of heart diseases and diabetes, he explained.
"There is an urgent need to set special mental health programmes for older adults and the matter should be addressed in the Mental Health Policy drafted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare," Mittal said.
Recent studies indicate that at least 17.13 million older adults are suffering from mental health problems in India at present.
