By 2020, mental illness will be the major health problems facing society worldwide. Psychiatric care for patients and support for their families is essential to cope with this type of pathology.
Psychiatric problems in the elderly
In 1996, the WHO already warned of the importance that mental illnesses were going to acquire in the future. In this sense, experts insist that “the greatest health problem in the year 2020 throughout the world, including developing countries, will not be cancer. What will make humanity suffer the most will be mental illnesses. In less than 20 years, depression will go from being the fifth cause of disability today to occupying second place”.
Elderly patients present the same type of mental disorders as younger adults. The high prevalence and high morbidity mean that the elderly are at increased risk of cognitive impairment. In addition to a thorough clinical examination of mental status and cognitive function, it is important to be aware of the use of drugs and non-pharmacological stimulation therapies.
Diagnosis of the psychiatric problem
Early diagnosis should be the workhorse of the psychiatrist when detecting symptoms or signs suggestive of a psychiatric problem, behavioral disturbance or neurodegenerative disease.
The clinical interview and the psychopathological examination is the starting point for the request of complementary tests to guide an adequate diagnosis. As a result of this, the most effective therapeutic approach can also be provided according to the clinical, social and family conditions of each patient.
Role of the specialist
The role of the psychiatrist is fundamental within a multidisciplinary team of care for the elderly patient together with other professionals such as geriatricians, neurologists and internists. Our work is focused on the detection, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness; the evaluation of neurodegenerative pathologies and the approach to behavioral alterations. It is also important to advise patients and their families on the need to maintain specific care for each moment through the coordination of health and social resources located in the hospital, in the community or at home.
Therefore, we are talking about dynamic concepts in the comprehensive approach to the elderly patient that requires continuous updating of knowledge to put them at the service of the best interests of patients and families.
Family attitude
The family is an indispensable support in the recovery of the patient with mental or neurodegenerative pathology. It has been demonstrated that elderly patients with an adequate family environment have a better prognosis than the rest. For this reason, they form an indissoluble part of the recovery process as co-therapists and play an active role in the supervision of the patient and in the early detection of symptoms or behaviors. In the absence of family, it is necessary to mobilize social resources that act as a family figure to ensure a global medical improvement of the elderly patient.