About three in every 10 South Africans over 60 will need medication for mental health in the future.
Professor Felix Potocnik from the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) said South Africa was one of the fastest-ageing countries in Africa but differentiated between normal ageing and impaired mental health.
“Often depression and dementia are under-diagnosed‚ overlooked and untreated in older adults owing to a variety of factors which may include and/or overlap with other conditions and behaviours.”
According to Stats SA‚ mid-year estimates showed in June last year that the proportion of older people had increased from 7.1% (2.8 million) in 1996 to 8.1% (4.6 million) in 2017. ….more