Mental health concerns have risen among older adults, while general and physical health has improved or remained stable. That’s according to a new cross-sectional study including more than 2.4 million participants.
Adults ages 60 to 69 years shared a pattern of decreasing mental health with their younger and middle-aged cohorts between 2003 and 2017. These decreases, reported as days per month of illness, were greater among those with lower income or education levels, the authors reported. The results were similar for men and women.
This finding may reflect reduced economic opportunities, the authors theorized. While adults at this age are largely out of the labor force, the effects of the labor market conditions continue as cohorts age, wrote David H. Rehkopf, ScD, MPH, from Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues. Adults ages 70 to 74 also reported a slight decrease in mental health during the same time period. The surveys did not include specific questions about memory decline.
On the other hand, general health and physical health improved or was stable in all age groups aged 65 years and older from 2003 to 2017. Older adults reported either the same or fewer days per month with physical health issues during the study period.
“These trends will likely have important implications for future life expectancy, disability, and the capacity of older persons to engage productively in society,” the authors concluded.
The authors published a research letter online in JAMA Network Open.
