MICRA director calls for therapy for older people rather than medication

Professor Alistair Burns, supported by Age UK, is calling on GPs 'to think twice before offering medication as a first-line treatment option for depression and anxiety in older people — and instead refer more patients for talking therapy', a call picked up by the Daily Mail, in their article “When signs of dementia could actually be depression”.

The article is concerned that “One in five people over the age of 65 experience depression or anxiety, according to NHS England — about the same rate as the rest of the population. With older patients, though, there are concerns that doctors ignore depression or misdiagnose the disease as dementia”. 

Several experts are consulted in the piece, including Alistair, who in January authored a letter on the matter to all GPs in January. The Mail article quotes Alistair as stating “Depression and anxiety in later life are often dismissed as a 'normal part of ageing, with older people regarded, wrongly, as beyond help”.