On July 28, the Senate Special Committee on Aging heard testimony on senior depression and the high incidence of suicide among the elderly.
Senior citizens have the highest suicide rate of all age groups in the United States four times the national average. According to some sources, 75 percent of elderly suicide victims met with their physician within one month of their suicide, and most had never been treated for depression. By 2030, it is estimated that close to 15 million seniors will suffer from depression.
In his opening statement, Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) pointed out that, “though much progress has been made to eradicate the stigma and shame of mental illness, seniors have been left behind.” He added, “Many seniors and health professionals assume that the symptoms of depression are a part of the normal aging process…our health care system simply failed them.”
Diana Waugh shared her personal experience with the Committee. Both her parents suffered from depression and separately committed suicide. In discussing her father’s death, Ms. Waugh said that “suicide was considered an act of cowardice and not talked about,” and “even though he exhibited all the physical signs of depression, he was never diagnosed or treated for it.” She also suffers from depression, but “medication and therapy have helped me regain clearer thinking, a purpose and joy in my life again.”
Donna Cohen, a professor in the Department of Aging and Mental Health at the University of South Florida, discussed the potential lethal consequences of depression, which include suicide, homicide, and homicide-suicide. She stated that, “depression, unrecognized and untreated, is a core characteristic of older homicide-suicide perpetrators, who are predominately men…and women are unknowing victims.” She went on to explain that there are several common characteristics of the perpetrator and the victim. “The couple have been married a long time and has enjoyed an intimate, fulfilling relationship…the older man is almost always caring for a wife who has been sick a long time, and is suffering from disabling conditions or is terminally ill. The older man is usually severely depressed, exhausted from the stress of caregiving, and the depression has gone undetected despite many medical care visits. The man has also been intimately involved in his wife’s care and has done everything possible to secure appropriate services, often lacking.”
Testifying on the importance of research and more funding for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Dr. Ira Katz stated that geriatric psychiatry “now has effective treatments for late life depression,” and “programs that make it possible for us to reach those patients who are at high risk for depression and its fatal consequences in the medical care settings where they receive the rest of their care.” He added, “however, we cannot sustain these programs in the absence of research support.”
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) asked why white men have such a high suicide rate when women suffer from depression at a 5 to 1 ratio to men. Ms. Cohen explained that, because women are more likely to discuss their symptoms with a physician, they are more easily diagnosed with depression. Men will keep their symptoms to themselves, and even if diagnosed, are less likely to follow their doctor’s prescribed treatment. Jane Pearson of NIMH agreed with those conclusions and added that men are more likely to use a firearm in their suicide attempts.
