According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), around 40 million Americans suffer anxiety disorders sometime during their lives. Although many anxiety disorders begin during the adolescent and teen years, there is now wide-spread acceptance that anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among older adults in the United States. While anxiety does not discriminate, older women experience anxiety more than older adult men. In comparison to depression, anxiety is twice as prevalent in the elderly population, which makes it the single most common mental health problem among seniors.
Studies suggest that between 3% and 14% of the elderly population meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosable anxiety disorder. Others report that almost 30% of seniors in care facilities like skilled nursing and assisted living communities show symptoms of anxiety that may not be enough to diagnose them, but enough to significantly impair their functions and daily lives.
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Can Anxiety Be Missed by Physicians?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is yes. Physicians who see and treat older patients may miss the signs and symptoms of anxiety and brush them off as a normal part of the aging process or some other disorder. Many physicians will not diagnose anxiety and therefore do not treat it. This is very unfortunate because anxiety, much like depression can be successfully treated. Anxiety is a problem that can cause other issues in life including a decline in quality of living.
Anxiety can also be missed by the people who spend most of their time with the older adult – family and friends. Again, signs and symptoms of anxiety may be considered natural and normal, so nothing needs to be done about them. Some people actually think that the older adult can just “snap out of it” and stop exhibiting excessive worrying, fear, or nervousness. They also miss the accompanying physical problems that anxiety can worsen, like chest pain, headaches, gastrointestinal issues or sweating without physical exertion.
Risk Factors
Anxiety in older adults may be associated with a number of risk factors including:
- Excessive worry or preoccupation with health problems
- Stressful life events
- Sleeping problems
- General feelings of poor physical and mental health
- Negative or difficult and unresolved problems from one’s childhood
- Physical limitation in daily living including ADLs and IADLs
- Misusing or abusing substances like alcohol, prescription drugs or street drugs
- Negative side effects from medications including antidepressants, benzodiazepines, stimulants, steroids, pain medications, bronchodilators, and inhalers
- Chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, and COPD
It is important to recognize the signs and symptoms of anxiety so that the individual can receive proper treatment. When anxiety goes unnoticed, it can severely impair the older adult’s physical health, self-esteem, ability to perform daily tasks and overall quality of life.
Final Words on Aging and Anxiety
As a gerontologist, I’ve always assumed that depression would be the most significant clinical problems among elderly people, but after much research I have come to know that it is anxiety that is the most common psychiatric condition among this population. Another interesting fact is that depression and anxiety go hand in hand, and when one is present, the other probably is, too. They can also mask one another and confuse people concerning signs and symptoms.
Anxiety is a very real problem among older adults and can interfere with so many aspects of daily life leading to decline in quality of living. It’s nice to grow old and many of us look forward to leading full and meaningful lives well into our 80s, 90s and maybe beyond. But, if physicians and others in our lives miss the symptoms of anxiety, as well as depression, how can we live a happy and fulfilling life?
(NOTE: Interested in learning more about Behavioral and Mental Health? Checkout my Behavioral and Mental Health CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)