Burden of mental diseases in the elderly population in Austria

Over the past century, the age structure of the Austrian population has changed substantially. The number of people above 60 years of age has tripled since the beginning of the 20th century. Currently, over 1.6 million people aged 65 years and above live in Austria. This population group is expected to grow further and reach over 2 million by the year 2028 (Statistik Austria: Bevölkerungsprognose 2017). 

Older age is associated with the existence of chronic conditions including mental health diseases. Furthermore, both chronic as well as mental diseases are linked with multi-morbidity. Multi-morbidity has clear impact on health and social care systems and is expected to become more prevalent in the elderly population. The effects of multi-morbidity at older ages increase the need not only for health and social care services but also for informal care which contributes to the higher societal costs. Low socioeconomic status is another factor associated with mental illnesses and higher health care costs.

Cost-of-illness studies provide useful information on resource utilisation in health and social care systems, and their costs. To facilitate the identification of key areas for health and social care planning, these economic factors should be explored along with epidemiological data.

In Austria, no epidemiological data in terms of mental health diagnoses and multi-morbidity for this age group is available and there are numerous information gaps about their socioeconomic impacts. 

As part of this new project, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Judit Simon is leading the health economic analysis of the use of health care, social care and mental health services, private health care spending, informal care needs, and relevant costs. Furthermore, health-related quality of life as well as broader wellbeing using the capabilities approach will be assessed. Relevant data will be collected alongside the main epidemiological study led by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Johannes Wancata from the Clinical Division of Social Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Medical University of Vienna. The project will allow for an evaluation of the costs of mental health conditions from a broader societal perspective in older adults in Austria and an assessment of the impact of mental health diseases on wellbeing.

The study is funded by  the „Gemeinsame Gesundheitsziele aus dem Rahmen-Pharmavertrag, eine Kooperation von österreichischer Pharmawirtschaft und Sozialversicherung“. 

Dates: 2018-2020 

Funding: Gemeinsame Gesundheitsziele aus dem Rahmen-Pharmavertrag, eine Kooperation von österreichischer Pharmawirtschaft und Sozialversicherung 

Collaborator(s): Clinical Division of Social Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna 

Information: Judit Simon, Agata Łaszewska