Rajesh Tampi - Absolute Geriatric Psychiatry Review: Essential Questions and Answers

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We are living in an aging world. For the first time in human history, there are more people living who are above the age of 65 years when compared to children under the age of 5 years. It is expected that the number of older adults in the world will double over the next three decades to over 2.1 billon individuals. This statistic also holds true for the United States where currently 15% of the population is over 65 years. By 2060, the population of older adults in the United States is expected to reach 95 million or a quarter of its population. Psychiatric disorders are not uncommon among older adults. It is estimated that between 15% and 20% of the older adults have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. The common psychiatric disorders seen among the older adults include anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, psychotic disorders, neurocognitive disorders, personality disorders, and substance use disorders. Evidence indicates that the presence of psychiatric disorders among older adults increases their morbidity and risk for mortality. Although the population of older adults with psychiatric disorders is increasing, the total number of trained geriatric mental health professionals has not kept pace with the needs of the aging population. Despite a significant growth in the knowledge and research data regarding common psychiatric disorders among older adults over the last two decades, this crucial information has not been disseminated adequately to clinicians who care for these older adults.

In an effort to improve knowledge sharing with fellow professionals who care for older adults with psychiatric disorders, we decided to write a concise question and answer book that covers various important topics in geriatric psychiatry. This book contains the latest information on psychiatric disorders among older adults. It is written by experienced and award-winning professionals who specialize in the care of older adults with psychiatric disorders. This new book can be used by anyone who wants to learn about psychiatric disorders among older adults. Additionally, this book serves as an excellent resource for any individual who intends to attain professional certificates in order to treat older adults with psychiatric disorders. This book has been written with the full awareness that the field of geriatric psychiatry is growing rapidly. We intend to update the information in this book with the latest scientific data every few years. It is our sincere hope that the readers of this book will find the information in this book helpful in improving their knowledge about psychiatric disorders among older adults. Last but not least, we would like to acknowledge our respective families, colleagues, trainees, and staff for their support and thank all the contributors for their efforts in creating this book.