- Written by Sade Oguntola
- Thursday, 17 October 2013 00:00
President, African Association of Psychiatry and Allied
Professions, Professor Oye Gureje describing the plight of Nigerian
elderly people, had said the country had one of the highest rate of
depression among its elderly in the world.
Professor Gurerje spoke at a press briefing to mark 2013 World Health Day with the theme, “Mental Health and Older Adults”.
The Country Director, Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy Programme stated that the rate of onset of new episode of depression was also one of the highest in the world.
The expert who linked this to issues auch as poverty,fewer employment opportunities, social isolation and status loss, declared “if they do not know where their next meal is going to come from and they have physical health problems such as diabetes and hypertension, they are more likely to also have an accompanying mental illness because they cannot take care of their treatable problem.”
“The global health survey of the wellbeing of older persons ranked Nigeria in position 85 out of 91 countries. We are in the same group as Gaza Strip and Middle East countries that are war torn. So it is like elderly Nigerians are suffering just as much as elderly people in Gaza strip.
Professor Gureje said that depression was associated with considerable impairment of quality of life and functioning, adding that women were more affected by the problem than men.
“It is clear that the country needs to do a lot more for the wellbeing of its elderly citizens, a section of the population that is rapidly growing in size not just in Nigeria but throughout the developing world,” he said.
Professor Richard Nwakwe, Chairman Faculty of Psychiatry, National Postgraduate Medical College, speaking on the mental health of older adults, said no form of mental illness is part of normal ageing.
Professor Nwakwe, noting that elderly people are faced with such issues as widowhood,loss of mates, frailty, dependence and disability, listed some mental disorders in elderly to include sleep, psychotic, anxiety and stress-related disorders.
He, however, listed problems to mental health care services uptake in older adults to include stigma, scare mental health professionals and cost, stressing that most of the professionals who treat older adults with mental disorders have neither education nor experience in mental health and ageing.
The expert, who expressed concern that Nigeria’s emphasis had only been on maternal and child health, questioned the functionality of many free health programmes by some state governors for people above age 60.
He, then, said that it was possible for individuals to live well into very old age, adding that this cannot happen unless there is good mental health care.
“Mental health promotion and mental illness prevention are critical to ageing well,” he concluded.
Professor Gurerje spoke at a press briefing to mark 2013 World Health Day with the theme, “Mental Health and Older Adults”.
The Country Director, Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy Programme stated that the rate of onset of new episode of depression was also one of the highest in the world.
The expert who linked this to issues auch as poverty,fewer employment opportunities, social isolation and status loss, declared “if they do not know where their next meal is going to come from and they have physical health problems such as diabetes and hypertension, they are more likely to also have an accompanying mental illness because they cannot take care of their treatable problem.”
“The global health survey of the wellbeing of older persons ranked Nigeria in position 85 out of 91 countries. We are in the same group as Gaza Strip and Middle East countries that are war torn. So it is like elderly Nigerians are suffering just as much as elderly people in Gaza strip.
Professor Gureje said that depression was associated with considerable impairment of quality of life and functioning, adding that women were more affected by the problem than men.
“It is clear that the country needs to do a lot more for the wellbeing of its elderly citizens, a section of the population that is rapidly growing in size not just in Nigeria but throughout the developing world,” he said.
Professor Richard Nwakwe, Chairman Faculty of Psychiatry, National Postgraduate Medical College, speaking on the mental health of older adults, said no form of mental illness is part of normal ageing.
Professor Nwakwe, noting that elderly people are faced with such issues as widowhood,loss of mates, frailty, dependence and disability, listed some mental disorders in elderly to include sleep, psychotic, anxiety and stress-related disorders.
He, however, listed problems to mental health care services uptake in older adults to include stigma, scare mental health professionals and cost, stressing that most of the professionals who treat older adults with mental disorders have neither education nor experience in mental health and ageing.
The expert, who expressed concern that Nigeria’s emphasis had only been on maternal and child health, questioned the functionality of many free health programmes by some state governors for people above age 60.
He, then, said that it was possible for individuals to live well into very old age, adding that this cannot happen unless there is good mental health care.
“Mental health promotion and mental illness prevention are critical to ageing well,” he concluded.
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