Older Mentally Ill Inmates: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

This article describes the mentally ill inmate population aged 50 years and older at the Utah State Prison and addresses related financial and policy issues. Prevalence of serious mental illness was 13.6% versus 15.5% among younger inmates. Of the older mentally ill inmates, 57% had a primary diagnosis of depression, 25% schizophrenia, and 18% bipolar disorder. Schizophrenia spectrum disorders were seen in 3% of the older population, exceeding the incidence in seniors in the community. The rate of atypical antipsychotic medication use in older mentally ill inmates was 33% versus 23% for younger inmates. The majority of older mentally ill inmates required sheltered or specialized mental health housing. These findings suggest future challenges to prison administrators as Utah’s aging inmate population increases. Near term, however, the impact will not be marked because older mentally ill inmates represented less than 1% of the population, and Utah’s sentencing structure allows for a balance between older inmate intakes and releases.