Full Description
H. Hafner, G. Moschel, N. Sartorius The size of the world's population aged over 65 was estimated at about 250 million in 1980; by the year 2025 it is expected to grow to about 760 million (see Hauser, this volume). This sharp increase in life expectancy at birth, in some countries amounting to almost 100% in only a hundred years, has resulted from better nutrition and improved living conditions, hygiene and medical care. Not only life expectancy at birth, but also further life expectancy in advanced age has shown a clear, though more moderate increase. This increased life expectancy, together with a simultaneous fall in birth rates, has caused the mean age of the world population and, especially, the average age of the population of industrial nations to climb substantially in recent times, a development which will reach its peak only some decades from now. For these demographic reasons alone, health care authorities will have to devote more attention to the health problems of the elderly. The main task of medical research is to develop improved methods of disease prevention and treatment. Yet, because the full benefits of such research are only realized after many years of work, researchers have already begun to respond to demographic pressures by focussing part of their efforts on the study of illnesses characteristic of old age.
Contents
1 Introduction.- 2 Mental Health in the Elderly: Epidemiological Approach.- 2.1 Aging and Increasing Longevity of World Population.- 2.2 Epidemiological Data on the Health of the Elderly.- 2.3 Epidemiology of Mental Illness.- 2.4 Mental Illness, Disability and Social Conditions among Old People in Mannheim.- 2.5 Physical Factors in Mental Health in the Elderly: Gerontological and Internal Medical Aspects.- 3 Psychological and Social Aspects of Mental Well-Being and Mental Health in the Elderly.- 3.1 Aging as Fate and Challenge: The Influence of Social, Biological and Psychological Factors.- 3.2 Social Factors Affecting the Mental Health of the Elderly.- 3.3 Social Support and Mental Disorder in Old Age: Overview and Appraisal.- 3.4 Environmental and Behavioural Factors in Psychiatric Disorders in the Elderly: An Approach Through Risk Groups.- 3.5 Perceptions about Old Age and Health in a Developing Country.- 3.6 Psychological and Social Aspects of Mental Health in the Elderly: A Summarizing Co-lecture.- 4 Biological and Medical Aspects of Aging and Age-Specific Brain Diseases.- 4.1 Morphology of the Brain in Normal Aging and in Processes of Dementia: Neuropathology and CT-Findings.- 4.2 Determination of Regional Cerebral Function and Structure in Normal Aging and Dementia with Positron Emission Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and X-Ray Computed Tomography.- 4.3 Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Glucose Metabolism in Old Age, and in Dementia Evaluated by PET.- 4.4 The Significance of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism for Processes of Aging and Dementia.- 4.5 Neurotransmitters in Old Age and Dementia.- 4.6 The Value of Collaborative Research in Aging.- 4.7 Issues in Geriatric Psychopharmacology.- 4.8 Dementia in Later Life: Research and Action.- 5 Assessment, Prevention, and Control of Mental Disorders in the Elderly: Biological, Psychological, and Environmental Influences: Prospects for Early Recognition and Intervention.- 5.1 Measurement of Psychopathologie and Impairment in the Elderly.- 5.2 Possibilities of Preserving Physical and Mental Fitness and Autonomy in Old Age.- 5.3 The Role of Medical Treatment in the Prevention and Reduction of Psychiatric Impairment in Old Age.- 5.4 Care of Mental Disorders in the Elderly: The Contribution of Social Intervention and Social Programmes.- 5.5 Assessment, Prevention and Control of Mental Disorders in the Elderly: Summarising Co-lecture.- 6 Evaluation of Social and Health Service for the (Disabled) Elderly.- 6.1 The Elderly in the Health Care System: Primary and Specialised Medical Care.- 6.2 Open and Closed Health Care for the Elderly: Comparison of Family and Home Care.- 6.3 Community Care for Psychiatric Patients.- 6.4 Self-help: Possibilities and Potentialities in Gerontopsychiatry.- 6.5 Evaluation of Social and Health Services for the "Disabled" Elderly.- 7 Mental Health in the Elderly: Recommendations for Research.
