Addressing The Age Gap

A new study, The Mental Health Landscape Of Older Adults In The US, reported that 11.5% of older adults have a mental illness. Slightly over 1% have a serious mental illness (SMI), and 8% have a substance use disorder (SUD). 

For reference, this is less than half of the prevalence of the population aged 18-64 years old. In that population, about a quarter of individuals have a mental illness, roughly 7% have an SMI, and 20% have a SUD.

There are some unique characteristics of the older adult population. Non-Hispanic Black and lower-income older adults are . . .