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The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of cognitive decline as well as its recognition rates in elderly inpatients in a general hospital in Greece. Two hundred randomly selected patients, 65 years old and over, hospitalized in surgery and internal medicine departments, were assessed for cognitive decline in a period of 12 months by means of structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis-I disorders, clinical version (SCID-IV), mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the clock drawing test (CDT). During the next 12 months the liaison calls were evaluated and the two periods were compared. During the first screening period, when psychiatric assessment was performed, 61 patients (30.5%) were diagnosed to present cognitive decline. During the second period, there were only 20 liaison calls from the same departments for patients over 65 years of age, from which 15 patients were found to present cognitive decline. Comparison between the two periods showed significant underestimation of cognitive decline. In the general hospital the cognitive decline of elderly inpatients remains still under-recognized.

Background: The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of episodes of DSM-IV major depression, as well as their identification rates, in elderly inpatients in a general hospital in Greece. Methods: 200 selected patients, 65 years old and over, hospitalized in Surgery and Internal Medicine Departments, were assessed for major depression over a period of 12 months (October 2006–November 2007) by means of SCID-I/P, HADS, BDI and GDS-15. During the same period, liaison calls from the same departments were evaluated and findings were compared. Results: When psychiatric screening was performed, 28 patients (14%) were diagnosed as suffering from a major depressive episode. During the same period, there were only 20 liaison calls from the same departments for patients over 65 years old, from which 4 patients were found to be suffering from major depression. Comparison between the two periods showed significant underestimation of depression. All psychometric scales detected depression sufficiently. Conclusions: In general hospital elderly inpatients, depression still remains underestimated. Depression symptom scales could be used as routine tests for screening major depression.