title: Depression and anxiety in older women.
abstract: The recommended shift in paradigm for assessment and treatment of depression and anxiety in the primary care setting includes a more holistic medical care approach, one that pays attention to the patient's mental health status and her functional level of social role recovery in addition to symptom relief. Practice Guidelines of professional specialities should be expanded to include attention to initializing mental health care in primary care practice and parameters for early referral and, if indicated, later follow-up. Our medical education system, at all levels, needs to become considerably more inclusive of issues of aging, gender, and mental health. Ongoing attention must be given to the health care cost burden of under recognition and under treatment of anxiety and depression, alleviation of stigma, treatment to functional recovery, and alleviation of caregiver burden.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, The State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Marion Zucker
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors