The Taipei Department of Health has urged people to pay attention to early signs of depression in elderly people, as more than 14.8 percent of people in the city are above the age of 70.
Ministry of the Interior data shows that the number of elderly people living in Taipei was 399,182 last year.
Not all elderly people are living happy lives, the department said, adding that a study showed that 10 to 26 percent of elderly people in the nation display signs of depression.
Symptoms of depression in elderly people — such as forgetfulness, fatigue, difficulty sleeping and aches and pains — are often neglected or mistaken as signs of aging, said Chiu Chih-Chiang (邱智強), director of the Department of Community Psychiatry at Taipei City Hospital’s Songde Branch.
“Studies have shown that elderly people with depression are two times more likely to develop dementia than other elderly people,” he said, adding that data from the Taipei City Government’s suicide prevention center last year showed that 25.5 percent of suicidal behavior in edlerly people was caused by depression.
A 67-year-old man, surnamed Chang (張), has led a normal life, but after his wife died and he started living alone, his relatives realized that he started to forget appointments, could not concentrate and often refused to leave his home, Chiu said, adding: “They took him to a doctor, suspecting that he had dementia.”
Chang was able to answer many difficult questions, but cried every time they mentioned his wife, Chiu said, adding that Chang was diagnosed with depression and treated with medication.
Chiu said risk factors of depression in elderly people include old age, low socioeconomic class, death of a spouse, illnesses — especially cardiovascular disease — a lack of family support, poor nutrition and low community participation.
He said elderly people who show signs of persistent low morale, loss of appetite, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, slow movement or speech, loss of interest, fatigue, feelings of guilt or worthlessness and thoughts of suicide might be suffering from depression and should seek medical or psychiatric help as soon as possible.
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