to your health - december 2013

TO YOUR

Mid-Valley Newspapers December 2013Health

A guide to wellness and healthy living in the Mid-Willamette Valley

HealthM

Quick reads about health topics in the news

Depression and seniorsAbout 20 percent of people

ages 55 and older experiencemental health concerns, feder-al data show. And depression,by far the most common con-dition, is treatable in 80 per-cent of cases.

But the majority of olderAmericans do not receive themental health services theyneed, according to theAmerican PsychologicalAssociation. Less than 3 per-cent of adults over age 55 seea mental health professional.

— Chicago Tribune

Measles on the marchMeasles infections have

risen dramatically this year,with outbreaks erupting asthe highly infectious virus isimported from abroad.

Measles has made anastounding comeback in suchunexpected parts of the worldas Britain, the European con-tinent and Israel, and it is inthese regions where Americantravelers are contracting it.

Worse, more than 98 per-cent of Americans who’vebecome infected were unvac-cinated, according to theCenters for Disease Controland Prevention, which voicedconcern about the measlesupsurge last week.

“This isn’t the failure of avaccine,” said Dr. ThomasFrieden of the CDC. “This isthe failure to vaccinate.”

There have been nearlythree times as many measlescases nationally this yearcompared with each of thepast 13 years.

Measles was declared elimi-nated in this country and therest of the Western Hemispherein 2000, Frieden said. But elimi-nation doesn’t equate witheradication, he said during anews briefing. When pocketsof the population remainunimmunized, the virus canspread remarkably fast.

— Newsday

Long-term needs70 percent of people now

turning 65 will need long-term care at some point dur-ing their lives.

Families provide most long-term care, with 42 millioncaregivers providing basiccare to family members on atypical day in 2009.

The value of family caregiv-ing is estimated at $450 billiona year, compared with all paidcaregiving at $211 billion.— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Power to persevereWhat gives some people

the ability to perseverethrough difficult situations?

New research publishedonline Dec. 5 in the Cell Pressjournal Neuron may provide aclue. The study pinpoints aregion of the brain that, whenstimulated, causes an individ-ual to anticipate a challengeand possess a strong motiva-tion to overcome it.

“That few electrical pulsesdelivered to a population ofbrain cells in conscious humanindividuals give rise to such ahigh level set of emotions andthoughts we associate with ahuman virtue such as persever-ance tells us that our uniquehuman qualities are anchoreddearly in the operation of ourbrain cells,” said Dr. JosefParvizi of Stanford University,the study’s lead author.

The study involved twoindividuals with epilepsy whohad electrodes implanted intheir brains to help doctorslearn about the source oftheir seizures. The electrodeswere situated in the anteriormidcingulate cortex, a brainregion that is thought to beinvolved in emotions, pain,and decision-making.

When an electrical chargewas delivered to a locationwithin this region, bothpatients described feeling theexpectation of an imminentchallenge coupled with adetermined attitude to sur-mount it.

— Cell Press

STAT

Ron Dellecker, 79, left, Philip Baur, 78, and Bonnie Sanfield, 71, get ready for a group ride of the “Old Spokes” on Sept. 28, 2009, in Valley Forge, Pa. The group gets together to ride for fun and exercise.

TOM GRALISH | PHILIDELPHIA INQUIRER/MCT

lderly people say they feelmuch less tired than teenagersand younger adults, accordingto a surprising new study thattracked how nearly 13,000Americans rated their exhaus-tion.

The results counter earlier studies and defystereotypes of older people as weak and tired,said Laura Kudrna, a researcher at the LondonSchool of Economics and Political Science.

What’s even more surprising, she said, isthat the unexpected results can’t be explainedaway by elderly people sleeping longer ordoing fewer activities they find tiring.

“There’s something else going on here,”Kudrna wrote in an email to the LosAngeles Times.

Kudrna and a fellow researcher analyzedanswers from the 2010 American Time UseSurvey, a nationally representative surveysponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statisticsthat included nearly 13,000 U.S. residents.Earlier rounds of the survey explored howAmericans spent their time, but the 2010survey was the first to ask how people feltduring different activities.

Each person filled out a diary of what theydid the previous day and how they felt aboutsome of their activities. They rated how tiredthey felt while doing those activities on ascale of 0 to 6.

Remarkably, Americans ages 65 and olderreported being less tired than older teens andyoung twentysomethings, pegging themselvesalmost one point lower on the tiredness scale.Tiredness dropped off after the age of 40 andcontinued to decrease with age, Kudrna said.

The results were controlled for how healthypeople thought they were and other back-ground characteristics, such as gender, ethnic-ity, number of children and how much peopleslept. Researchers also factored in how muchof the day was spent doing tiring activities.

So why might older people report feelingless tired than teens, twentysomethings andother adults? Kudrna wonders if technologymight be making younger people feel moretired, or if other, untracked health factors areinfluencing the results.

The bottom line, however, is that “wedon’t know,” Kudrna said. “And I’d love tofind out.”

The study, recently published online inthe Journals of Gerontology, Series B:Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences,urged more research to understand theunexpected results.

What — us tired?Elderly say they’re less exhausted than teens

By EMILY ALPERT REYES, LOS ANGELES TIMES

E

Mental illness stigmakeeps elderly folks

from seeking treatmentBY HEIDI STEVENSCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Depression is alarmingly com-mon in older Americans. It’shighly treatable, but a number ofobstacles, led by a nagging gen-erational stigma surroundingmental health, often stand in theway of proper care.

About 20 percent of peopleages 55 and older experiencemental health concerns, federaldata show. And depression, by farthe most common condition, istreatable in 80 percent of cases.

But the majority of olderAmericans do not receive themental health services they need,according to the AmericanPsychological Association. Lessthan 3 percent of adults over age55 see a mental health profes-sional.

Experts say this must change.“We have to do more,” says

Richard Birkel, senior vice presi-dent at the National Council onAging. “Depression is not just aseparate condition. It’s the key totreating so many other healthconditions. Depression will, infact, short-circuit other treat-ments. You’ve got to tackle it toreally get the patient’s coopera-tion and engagement in workingon other health conditions.”

With Americans ages 65 andup accounting for 13 percent ofthe population and estimated togrow to 19 percent by 2030,according to the Health and

Human Services’ Administrationon Aging, a significant number oflives are affected by the mentalhealth of older people.

We talked to health care pro-fessionals about how and whyour approach should evolve.

The risks: At its most severe,depression is a major risk factorfor suicide. The elderly have a

slightly higher suicide rate (14.22of every 100,000 people) thanthe general population (11.16 per100,000), according to theCenters for Disease Control andPrevention, and men 65 andolder die from suicide at morethan twice the national rate.

“Depression is not simple sad-ness,” says Birkel, who has alsoserved as the executive directorof the National Alliance onMental Illness. “It’s a very seri-ous illness.”

And its effects are many. Evenmild depression lowers a per-son’s immunity and can compro-mise the body’s fight againstinfections and cancers, accord-ing to the AmericanPsychological Association.

“Depression is a co-travelerwith lots of other health condi-tions,” Birkel says. “The guide-lines now for treating diabetesurge physicians to test fordepression. Same with heart dis-ease, hearing loss, eyesight loss.

“You have to get them out ofthat cycle of feeling defeated,feeling like they have no energyand can’t take care of themselves.”

The hurdles: “Most older peoplegrew up in a generation taught totough it out and suck it up,” saysDolores Gallagher-Thompson,associate professor at the StanfordUniversity school of medicine anddirector of the school’s OlderAdult and Family Research andResource Center. “It was believedthat one should be able to handleone’s own problems. Or if youneeded help, you would go to fam-ily or friends or a clergy member.”

Sadness and anxiety, Birkel

says, are often viewed as person-al failures by older adults.

“Today’s seniors grew up in asociety where mental healthissues were not freely discussed,and there was great shame associ-ated with mental illness,” he says.

Early impressions of mentalhealth treatments only added tothe stigma.

“The availability of psy-chotherapy and other mentalhealth services was not greatbefore the ‘60s, when PresidentKennedy formed a series of fed-erally funded mental health cen-ters,” Gallagher-Thompson says.“Prior to that, the average personcouldn’t pay for private psy-chotherapy, and the treatmentswere extremely long and severe.”

“Since then we’ve developed anumber of evidence-based mod-els and approaches to psy-chotherapy, many of which arerelatively short term,” she con-tinues. “You don’t have to signup for three or four years oftreatment. Often you’re lookingat 10 to 20 sessions, very focusedon a particular problem.”

Gallagher-Thompson says thenumber of geriatric mentalhealth professionals is likely toincrease as baby boomers age.

“My expectation is there willbe tremendous pressure andneed for mental health servicesfrom the boomers as more ofthem get to the point wherethey’re more frail and depend-ent, have had more losses, expe-rience more depression,” shesays. “They will drive the mar-ketplace to create more trainedprofessionals.”

GETTING HELPOlder adults and their families

should utilize the mental healthresources they can access, saysDolores Gallagher-Thompson, asso-ciate professor at the StanfordUniversity school of medicine anddirector of the school’s Older Adultand Family Research and ResourceCenter.

“Tell your doctor: ‘I’m feelingdepressed.’ ‘I’ve been drinkingmore.’ ‘I don’t want to get out ofbed.’ There are people with special-ized skills and training in geriatricsocial work and psychiatry and psy-chology who can help,” she says.

“There’s no way a primary carephysician can possibly go over all theissues an elderly patient needs totalk about in 15 to 20 minutes,” saysRichard Birkel, senior vice presidentat the National Council on Aging.“They should be screening for falls,substance abuse, memory impair-ment. If you simply ask an olderperson, ‘Are you feeling depressed?’They’ll say ‘no.’ That’s a no-go. Theclinician has to be very artful.”

Most counties, Gallagher-Thompsonsays, operate mental health centers,to which a primary care physiciancan direct patients. Birkel says sen-ior centers can also direct people tothe proper professionals.

Depression common as Americans grow older

To Your HealthTuesday, December 10, 2013A6