title: Mental health/psychiatric issues in elder abuse and neglect.
abstract: Elder abuse may be defined as a violation of a vulnerable older person's human and civil rights. Psychiatric illness is an important cause of vulnerability to abuse, especially when it is comorbid with other risk factors, such as physical frailty, sensory impairment, social isolation, and physical dependency. Health care providers are likely to encounter elder abuse regularly, and therefore have an important role in its detection and management, and in the treatment of subsequent psychiatric illness. This article reviews the relationships between psychiatric illnesses and elder abuse and neglect, examines the psychiatric consequences, and discusses how these may be treated.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Charles Bell House, Riding House Street, London W1W 7EJ, UK. Electronic address: claudia.cooper@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Charles Bell House, Riding House Street, London W1W 7EJ, UK.
authors.forename: Gill
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Livingston
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008603:Mental Health; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Abuse; Dementia; Mental health; Neglect