Rangarajan Subhashini K, Sivakumar Palanimuthu Thangaraju, Manjunatha Narayana, Kumar Channaveerachari Naveen, Math Suresh Bada
Dept. of Clinical Neurosciences, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Geriatric Clinic and Services, Dept. of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2021 Sep;43(5 Suppl):S1-S7. doi: 10.1177/02537176211047963. Epub 2021 Oct 5.
In older adults (aged 60 years and above), mental health problems are gaining public health importance because of the increasing prevalence, disease burden, disability, morbidity, and mortality. Epidemiological studies on major mental health disorders such as depression and dementia in older adults have contributed to a better understanding of the distribution and determinants of these conditions. Identifying potential risk factors has stimulated interventional research on preventing these conditions under the public health framework towards their management. The increasing burden of geriatric mental health conditions like dementia in developing countries like India can contribute to significant challenges if there is no adequate strengthening of the public health response. This includes scaling up the measures of prevention, public awareness, early diagnosis, and quality health and social care equitably available to all sections of the population. The Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) provides the opportunity for concerted and coordinated initiatives to improve intrinsic capacity (physical and mental) and offer an age-friendly environment to enhance the functional ability of all older adults.
This article reviews the critical public health issues related to geriatric mental health in India.
在老年人（60岁及以上）中，由于心理健康问题的患病率、疾病负担、残疾率、发病率和死亡率不断上升，其已在公共卫生领域变得愈发重要。针对老年人中诸如抑郁症和痴呆症等主要心理健康障碍的流行病学研究，有助于更好地了解这些疾病的分布情况和决定因素。识别潜在风险因素激发了在公共卫生框架下针对这些疾病的预防进行干预性研究，以实现对它们的管理。在印度等发展中国家，像痴呆症这样的老年心理健康疾病负担日益加重，如果不充分加强公共卫生应对措施，可能会带来重大挑战。这包括扩大预防措施、提高公众意识、早期诊断以及为各阶层民众公平提供优质的健康和社会护理。“健康老龄化十年”（2021 - 2030年）为开展协调一致的倡议提供了契机，以提高内在能力（身体和心理方面），并提供一个对老年人友好的环境，以增强所有老年人的功能能力。
本文综述了与印度老年心理健康相关的关键公共卫生问题。
