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Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Chronic Respiratory Diseases pp 11–31Cite as

Depression and Anxiety Across the Age Spectrum

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Abstract

Mental health issues are frequently overlooked in the geriatric population because of the overlap of medical symptoms, unfortunately resulting in failure to optimize treatment of both medical disease and mental illness. Anxiety and mood disorders, in particular, are both associated with a wide range of symptoms, with the former tending not to be readily recognized and treated and the latter sometimes mistaken for normal physiologic changes of aging or side effects of medications. Although the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders declines with increasing age, except in the oldest old, they are still common and require preventive considerations. In addition, many may experience subclinical symptoms. In the geriatric population, attention should focus on level of functioning and quality of life, as well as safety. The biopsychosocial model for conceptualizing the reciprocal cause-and-effect pattern of chronic diseases on depressive and anxiety disorders and vice versa has now been updated to explain the link between depressive and anxiety symptoms and chronic medical conditions: it posits that depression and anxiety affect behavioral risks for chronic disease, which, in turn, lead to chronic disease. Changes to the model have occurred because many risk factors for anxiety and depression: biologic, psychological, and social, change with age. Treatment can be pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy, and most treatment occurs in primary care. Stigma is a big issue, and underreporting of mental health issues is a result. Lack of treatment of anxiety and depression in the elderly can have significant consequences for both patient and family.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Virginia, 1215 Lee Street, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA

    Erin Dooley MD

  2. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Mark E. Kunik MD, MPH

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  1. Erin Dooley MD
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Correspondence to Erin Dooley MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Staff Physician, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas, USA

    Amir Sharafkhaneh

  2. Department of Health Professions, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Abebaw Mengistu Yohannes

  3. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

    Nicola A. Hanania

  4. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

    Mark E. Kunik

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Dooley, E., Kunik, M.E. (2017). Depression and Anxiety Across the Age Spectrum. In: Sharafkhaneh, A., Yohannes, A., Hanania, N., Kunik, M. (eds) Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Chronic Respiratory Diseases. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7009-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7009-4_2

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