Health & Well-Being

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Health & Well-Being » Mental Health Status

Why It's Important

Older adults are living and enjoying good health longer than ever before. Mental health is a positive state resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.

Mental stress and mental illness can take a severe toll on the health, medical expenses and daily functioning of older adults. The most common mental-health problems among the aged population are anxiety disorders such as phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder; severe cognitive impairment including Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias; and mood disorders such as depression. Older adults vary widely with respect to age of onset. While some have experienced illness most of their adult life, a substantial number of older adults experience mental disorders for the first time late in life.

See Data By: Richmond MSA | Virginia | National

How Richmond Is Doing

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How Virginia Is Doing

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How the U.S. Is Doing

Percentage of People Age 65 and over with clinically relevant depressive symptoms, by sex, 1998-2004

Percentage of People Age 65 and over with clinically relevant depressive symptoms, by age, 2004

According to an article by Court, Ferrel, and Forsythe in the McKinsey Quarterly:

51- to 56-year-old Boomers have higher rates of chronic health, drinking and psychiatric problems than did the members of the previous generation at the same age.
Boomers are anxious:
- 62 percent worry about their health in retirement
- 71 percent about health care costs
- Roughly half about their financial preparedness for retirement
- 46 percent about ending up alone
- The rate of drinking and psychiatric problems was 28 and 21 percent, respectively, for Boomers, compared with 21 and 8 percent for the previous cohort
(MCKINSEY QUARTERLY COURT FERREL AND FORSYTHE, 2007)