Mental Health Declining Among Older U.S. Adults, Poor Hardest Hit

A study in JAMA Network Open suggests many older Americans, especially the poorest, are increasingly suffering mental health problems, reports Reuters Health . The authors examined data on 2.4 million Americans 60 and older who participated in annual polls from 2003 to 2017, of whom 41 percent had household income of no more than $35,000 annually and 10 percent lacked a high school education. The average number of days each month when people 60 to 64 experienced poor mental health increased from 2.9 to 3.6 during the study, and rose from 2.3 to three days for those 65 to 69 and from 2.2 to 2.4 days among those 70 to 74. Slippage in mental health was similar for men and women, but higher for people with lower income and education. The average monthly number of poor mental health days rose from 2.9 to 4.1 among those who earned $35,000 or less a year, and from 3.6 to 4.4 when the head of the household did not have a high school diploma. "The greater declines among seniors in lower income and education categories are related to worsening stress, anxiety, and depression among groups in the U.S. that have faced stagnation in wages before retirement, uncertain benefits and income after retirement, continued obstacles to stable housing, and high medical costs as a percentage of income," stated Cambridge Health Alliance's Benjamin Le Cook.