Does old age reduce the risk of anxiety and depression? A review of epidemiological studies across the adult life span

By Anthony F Jorm. Psychological Medicine, 2000

684 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Background. There is considerable disagreement about what happens to the risk of anxiety and depression disorders and symptoms as people get older. Methods. A search was made for studies that examine the occurrence of anxiety, depression or general distress across the adult life span. To be included, a study had to involve a general population sample ranging in age from at least the 30s to 65 and over and use the same assessment method at each age. Results. There was no consistent pattern across studies for age differences in the occurrence of anxiety, depression or distress. The most common trend found was for an initial rise across age groups, followed by a drop. Two major factors producing this variability in results were age biases in assessment of anxiety and depression and the masking effect of other risk factors that vary with age. When other risk factors were statistically controlled, a more consistent pattern emerged, with most studies finding a decrease in anxiety, depression and distress across age groups. This decrease cannot be accounted for by exclusion of elderly people in institutional care from epidemiological surveys or by selective mortality of people with anxiety or depression. Conclusion. There is some evidence that ageing is associated with an intrinsic reduction in susceptibility to anxiety and depression. However, longitudinal studies covering the adult life span are needed to distinguish ageing from cohort effects. More attention needs to be given to understanding the mechanism behind any ageing-related reduction in risk for anxiety and depression with age. Possible factors are decreased emotional responsiveness with age, increased emotional control and psychological immunization to stressful experiences.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b91f8cc137bb62219f1821dc7a45fdaddb306dca

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Citations in the corpus

Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders (2014, neutral): “aging [1308].”
Meaning in Life, Psychological Well-Being and Depressive Symptomatology: A Comparative Study (2012, background): “This may be due to the fact that young people experience high levels of social pressure and stress, because during this period of age (18 to 30 years old) they are socially expected to develop successfully in almost all important domains of their life (personal, social, sentimental, vocational, fina”
Strength and Vulnerability Integration (SAVI): A Model of Emotional Well-Being Across Adulthood (2010, neutral): “Moreover, with the exception of the dementias, older adults report lower levels of most psychological disorders, including major depression and anxiety (Jorm, 2000; Kessler et al., 2005; see review by Piazza & Charles, 2006).”
The Role of Cognitive Control in Older Adults' Emotional Well-Being (2008, neutral): “From a clinical perspective, older adults have lower rates of subsyndromal depression, dysthymia, major depression, and anxiety disorders compared with younger adults (Bland, Orn, & Newman, 1988; George, Blazer, Winfield-Laird, Leaf, & Fischback, 1988; Jorm, 2000; Kobau, Safran, Zack, Moriarty, & Ch”
Development and validation of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (2006, background): “This may be due in part to methodological factors, such as the use of diagnostic criteria and instruments not validated for use with this group (Fuentes and Cox, 1997), and to response bias during epidemiological surveys (Jorm, 2000).”
Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? (2008, neutral): “Jorm (2000), however, reviews psychiatric evidence and concludes that there are 2 conflicting results on how the probability of depression alters through the life course.”
Cognitive Control in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Relation of Inhibition Impairments to Worry and Anxiety Severity (2017, background): “Aging is independently associated with various forms of neurocognitive decline (West 1996) and changes in mood and anxiety symptoms (Jorm 2000).”