Depression & Suicide in Older Adults: Screening, Treatment & Important Conversations

An estimated 19.4 million adults in the U.S. had at least one major depressive disorder in 2019. Its toll can be enormous — interrupting a person’s daily life, causing insomnia and fatigue, impacting memory and decision-making, raising the risk of cardiovascular disease, increasing pain sensitivity, weakening the immune system, causing weight changes, and raising the risk of death. Death by suicide is a serious problem for people ages 65 and older who make up 16 percent of the population but account for more than 19 percent of suicides. White men ages 85 and older take their own lives at four times the rate of the general population.

Depression may present differently in older adults — complicating timely recognition and treatment. This resource includes guidance on recognizing and screening for depression in older adults, tips on having important conversations with your patients about treatment, and links to additional resources.

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More than 20 percent of older adults aged 60 and over suffer from a mental or neurological disorder. The most common neuropsychiatric conditions are dementia and depression, according to the World Health Organization. Substance-use disorders related to use of alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription medications are increasing in prevalence among older adults, along with chronic pain issues that may complicate treatment access.

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The prevalence of depressive disorders in older adults is expected to more than double by 2050. In response to this crisis, the Alliance convened a roundtable of experts and advocates to discuss older adults and mental health. Now the Alliance is taking the next steps in bringing this topic to the national conversation on mental health. 

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