The majority of elderly people in Portugal do not suffer from depression and the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders are generally lower in older age groups, according to a report by the Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute.
“Although ageing is often associated with sadness, loneliness, dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms, also due to the losses and events that occur more frequently at this stage of life, the majority of older people are not depressed,” said the report “Ageing in Health: Characterization of the health of the elderly population in Portugal”, released today.
The document states that although the prevalence of depression is lower in the elderly compared to younger age groups, “it is the most common psychiatric disorder in the elderly population with a documented impact on quality of life and is an important predictor of mortality”.
“Due to the impact on quality of life and the fact that the presentation of the symptoms that characterize these disorders can appear differently in this population subgroup, anxiety and depression remain a relevant aspect in public health,” points out the report, which presents information from various national and European sources, health surveys and national studies until December 2021.
The latest available data, from 2019, indicated a higher frequency of depressive symptoms and depressive symptoms indicative of major depression in the Portuguese population aged 65 and over, compared to the European Union average.
With regard to dementia, the study states that “it has a fairly low mortality rate in the population aged between 65 and 74”, but becomes the sixth leading cause of death in the 85 and over age group.
It points out, however, that in Portugal, there is no epidemiological study that portrays the situation of this problem.
A review study that focused on EU member countries where prevalence studies had been carried out, which did not include Portugal, showed an estimate for the population aged 65 and over of between 5.9% and 9.4%.
The report states that, in general, some aspects associated with ageing in Portugal were similar to the European average, although in 2019 the Portuguese elderly population had higher levels of difficulties in carrying out activities of daily living, which has “an important impact on the participation and inclusion of this population”.
“The differences between Portugal and the European Union probably reflect differences in material living conditions, health practices and access to health care, among others,” say the authors of the paper.
According to preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute, in 2021 the elderly would represent around 23.4% of the resident population.
Since 2000, the number of elderly people has been higher than the number of young people (0-14 years old). In 2011, for every 100 young people living in Portugal, there were 127 elderly people, a figure that rose to 167 in 2020.
But ageing is not the same throughout the country, the report says, indicating that in 2020 the Alentejo and Centro regions were the oldest, while Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, the Azores and Madeira had the lowest ageing index.
The ageing of the population has also contributed to the transformation of the structure of the labor market, with an increase in the employed population between 2010 and 2020
“The increase in average life expectancy, desertification and the transformation of the role of the family in modern societies have certainly contributed to explaining the changes observed and the differences between the country’s regions,” he points out.
The regions of Lisbon (22%), Alentejo (22%) and the Algarve (21%) had the highest percentages of elderly people living alone, unlike the North and the Azores, with 17% each.
