Ageing with psychosis - Fifty and beyond

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Gerontology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Limited research exists on the long-term experiences of individuals with psychotic disorders as they age.
• Current focus on early psychosis often overlooks the needs of middle-aged and older populations with these conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare social functioning, physical health, substance use, and psychiatric symptoms in middle-aged (50-65 years) versus younger adults (18-49 years) with psychotic disorders.
• To identify how the profile of psychosis evolves across the lifespan.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the population-based Survey of High Impact Psychosis in Australia.
• Compared a cohort of 347 individuals aged 50-65 years with a cohort of 1478 individuals aged 18-49 years.

Main Results:

• The 50-65 age group had more women, affective psychoses, later onset, and chronic illness courses.
• Older adults exhibited more negative symptoms, lower cognition, and higher rates of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes mellitus.
• This group also showed higher rates of divorce/separation, living alone, and unemployment, with lower lifetime substance use.

Conclusions:

• The characteristics of individuals with psychosis significantly shift into middle and older age.
• Understanding these age-related differences is crucial for developing targeted interventions and treatment strategies for the aging population with psychosis.