ABSTRACT
THE INCREASING number of old people in the population is reflected in the rising total of elderly persons admitted to mental hospitals. Whereas in 1931 2,918 people aged 65 and over were admitted directly to mental hospitals in England and Wales, there were 3,850 such people admitted in 1938 (constituting 12% of all direct admissions) and the number admitted has since then increased further. Moreover, approximately 54 persons of all ages per 100,000 of the total population of England and Wales were in 1938 admitted to mental hospitals, but the proportion of those admitted who were over 65 years of age was much higher—approximately 94 per 100,000 of the aged population. When it is considered that the people of pensionable age (65 years in men and 60 in women) have increased from https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> 2 1 4 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203528495/dd7e3499-23d0-4ec8-b23b-58c56004ca67/content/inline-math_34_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> millions in 1900 (6% of the population) to https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> 4 1 4 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203528495/dd7e3499-23d0-4ec8-b23b-58c56004ca67/content/inline-math_35_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> millions (10%) in 1931, and that by 1961 they will probably amount to more than 8 millions (16% of the population), the future dimensions of the mental hospital problem of the elderly appears formidable.
