Department of Health Publishes Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2015
This year Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) independent surveillance report focuses on those people who are currently circa 50-70 years of age; a generation often called the ‘Baby Boomers’. Prof. Robert Stewart and Dr. Gayan Perera contributed to Mental health chapter and discussed about Common Mental Disorders in this age group. Authors used Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) survey data to investigate rates of mental illness in England and is conducted only every seven years. The latest survey published in September 2016 [http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB21748].
The CMO’s report revealed that levels of mental disorder in those currently aged 55 to 64, were significantly higher than they were for 55 to 64 year olds in previous surveys in the series. Chapter 3 of this report summarised Health and employment of older adults in England. Chpater 3 stated that “today, there is an increasing body of evidence that for most people ‘good work’ is good for personal health, organisational productivity and economic prosperity. Since many people define themselves and their position in society in terms of their job, staying in employment is also a significant contributor to self-esteem”