Highlights
- •Provides a broad review of how lifecourse exposures influence the gendered distribution of mental health in late adulthood.
- •The gender gap in mental health attenuates in advanced older age and there are higher rates of suicide among older men.
- •Gender differences in mental health vary by social context.
- •Older women have greater exposure to risk-factors for mental illness, but older men may be more vulnerable to their impacts.
- •An emerging but limited literature on the mental health of minority genders in later life.
Abstract
This article presents a broad narrative review of the epidemiological evidence on
how and why the mental health of older adults varies by gender. We draw upon international
research literatures spanning gerontology and population mental health, as well as
major reports from global health agencies. Compared with older men, older women are
more likely to experience common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety,
although the gender gap is smaller than it is at younger ages. In contrast, the mortality-related
impacts of poor mental health, including suicide, are more severe for older men. These
gendered patterns vary by country and other social contexts. Factors proposed to account
for these findings include cultural and social norms, differentiation of gender roles,
disadvantage and (dis)empowerment across the life course, and the coping styles of
older men. However, little research has explicitly tested these explanations. Research
to date has overwhelmingly focused on identifying differences in the mental health
of older men and women. Notably, most studies have been restricted to binary comparisons,
lacking the data to disentangle sex and gender dynamics, and few studies have examined
the mental health of minority gendered adults in later life. Finally, there remains
a need for high-quality population-based research into the mental health of those
aged over 80 that includes coverage of people living in residential aged care settings.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 11, 2019
Accepted:
September 10,
2019
Received in revised form:
September 10,
2019
Received:
July 22,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
