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Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish the predictive value of an ICD-10 diagnosis of depressive disorder or dysthymia (depressive patients) among 70 years + frail rural community living patients by measuring morbidity, mortality and use of health services. Identical measures were studied over time in general elderly populations., Outcome Measures: morbidity, mortality and use of health services were registered over 13 years in: (i) a clinical cohort of frail community-living depressive patients (n = 38), a frail control group (n = 116) and non-frail elderly people (n = 575), all living in the same municipality, and (ii) register-based samples of general rural (n = 4 115) and capital living (n = 54 977) elderly populations. The outcome measures were compared using data from Danish national health registers., Results: Every one of the clinical cohort of depressive patients had died at the end of the study. Compared with both the frail control group and the non-frail elderly people, the depressive patients had significantly more psychiatric hospital days, outpatient home visits, antidepressant use, antipsychotic use, GP service use and more psychiatric diagnoses with higher morbidity. However, greater use of somatic hospital services or more somatic diagnoses among the depressive elderly patients were not observed. The general elderly population living in the capital had, compared with rural equals, significantly more somatic and psychiatric diagnoses, larger use of somatic hospital services, psychiatric hospital days, antipsychotics and anxiolytics, but less use of antidepressants, psychiatric outpatient home visits and GP services., Conclusions: An ICD-10 diagnosis of depressive disorder or dysthymia predicted increased use of psychiatric services, more psychiatric diagnoses and increased mortality, indicating poor late-life psychiatric outcome. Contrasting with other studies, depression did not predict increased use of somatic hospital services or more somatic diagnoses. The differences in health care status and use between elderly living in the capital and in rural areas elderly are novel findings.

The study aims to establish the predictive value of a diagnosis of depression among elderly according to the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) by measuring morbidity, medication usage, health service utilization and mortality during an 8-year follow-up of depressed elderly inpatients (n=76) and community-living depressed patients (n=38) compared with controls (n=116). The data were taken from GPs' medical records and health statistics registers. At baseline, no significant differences were observed between the two cohorts of depressed patients and the controls in terms of prevalence of cardiovascular, respiratory or cerebrovascular morbidity. During follow-up, both cohorts of depressed patients had significantly increased rates of recurrent depressions, consumption of antidepressants, psychiatric in- and outpatient admissions, and home visits; inpatients used more psychiatric hospital days. Health service utilization in somatic hospitals and somatic diagnoses was not significantly increased. Inpatients used significantly fewer GP office-hour services but more out-of-hours services than the control group. Community-living depressed patients experienced no significant increase in use of GP services. Survival was unaffected in both cohorts. In agreement with other studies, especially inpatient depression predicted increased rates of recurrent depressions and increased use of psychiatric hospital services, indicating poor long-term outcome. Inpatients consumed fewer GP office-hour services but more out-of-hours services, possibly due to less office-hour contact. Contrasting with other studies, ICD-10 depression among elderly predicted no increase in the use of somatic hospital facilities.

Introduction: Although delirium is a reversible cerebral syndrome, the effect of treatment of the elderly is unsatisfactory, involving prolonged hospitalizations and increased risk of relapse and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether hospitalization for delirium (severe delirium) diagnosed by ICD-10 criteria predicts increased morbidity, utilization of health services and mortality., Materials and Methods: Delirious inpatients (n = 26) discharged after treatment in an old-age psychiatric university clinic were studied for nine years. In a register-based design, the above-mentioned parameters of the delirium cohort were compared with a group of controls (n = 116)., Results: There was a trend to increased mortality in the delirium cohort. Compared with the controls, the delirium cohort had a significantly increased incidence of disorders of vital organs, serious psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, increased use of hospital psychiatry and general practitioner's out-of-hours service, but less use of office-hour services. The incidence of delirium in the cohorts was low. In the delirium cohort, there was no significantly increased use of services or the number of diagnoses in somatic hospitals., Conclusion: Increased somatic and psychiatric morbidity and a trend to increased mortality indicate a serious prognosis after severe delirium in the elderly. It is noteworthy that the delirium cohort had increased use of GPs' out-of-hours services but less use of office-hour services.

Objective: To offer an update on prevalence and predictors of old age depression in populations of elderly Caucasians., Method: The databases MEDLINE and Psychinfo were searched and relevant literature from 1993 onwards was reviewed., Results: The prevalence of major depression ranges from 0.9% to 9.4% in private households, from 14% to 42% in institutional living, and from 1% to 16% among elderly living in private households or in institutions; and clinically relevant depressive symptom 'cases' in similar settings vary between 7.2% and 49%. The main predictors of depressive disorders and depressive symptom cases are: female gender, somatic illness, cognitive impairment, functional impairment, lack or loss of close social contacts, and a history of depression., Conclusion: Depression is frequent in populations of elderly. Methodological differences between the studies hinder consistent conclusions about geographical and cross-cultural variations in prevalence and predictors of depression. Improved comparability will provide a basis for consistent conclusions.

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) has recently gained recognition as a separate disease. Lewy bodies are pathoanatomical inclusion bodies in the CNS. They are well known as part of Parkinson's disease where they are present mainly in the substantia nigra, and they are also found in large numbers in the neocortex. It is still an unanswered question why Lewy bodies are formed, but their appearance is connected with cellular degeneration of unknown aetiology. Neuropathological investigations of dementia populations show that DLB accounts for 12-36%, which places it as the second most frequent dementia disease after Alzheimer's disease (AD) with a frequency close to that of vascular dementia. This article reviews the development of the term DLB and describes the clinical characteristics, including the neuropsychological symptom profile, which can contribute to the diagnostic discrimination between DLB and AD. Furthermore, relevant treatment possibilities are discussed.

Unlabelled: The prevalence of depressive disorders (D) in 70 years of age or older frail elderly was studied. Two hundred and eleven (81%) recipients of Municipal Home Help Service (frail elderly) in a rural area of Jutland were included and screened by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS). If participants had: a) a GDS-score > or = 5 points or/and b) a history of depression, further evaluation was given by: 1) general practitioners (GPs) (implicit criteria), 2) a psycho-geriatrician (ICD-10 criteria), and 3) a geriatrician with the Hamilton Test for Depression. Prevalence rates for D among the evaluators: 15-18%. The diagnostic agreement was only fair., In Conclusion: 18% of the studied population fulfilled the ICD-10 research criteria for depression. The GDS may help GPs in diagnosing depression among frail elderly. False GDS negatives, found among GDS negatives with a history of depression, should be evaluated thoroughly when identifying depression in the target group.

The purposes of the study were to account for aetiology, treatment concept, outcome of treatment, and discharge destination of delirious elderly inpatients. During one year all patients in a psychogeriatric university department were assessed on admission and at discharge with a selection of assessments measuring psychopathology, behavioural disorders, depressive symptoms, intellectual functioning, activities of daily living, and gait. Diagnoses were made according to the ICD-10 criteria for research. All patients with a principal diagnosis of delirium (n = 26) are accounted for. Delirious patients improved their health status significantly in all the assessments, and 86% of patients admitted from independent living were discharged to independent living. It is concluded that elderly inpatients with severe or prolonged delirium profit significantly from the treatment concept in all of the rated health aspects.

Unlabelled: The objectives were to study clinical symptoms of major depression in later life by using relevant assessment scales of psychopathology, behavioural disorders, and physical functioning. The evaluations on admission and at discharge were based on interdisciplinary observations and interview of patients. The study was carried out during twelve months in a psychogeriatric university department and encompassed 202 patients. All (N = 80) (40%) patients who had a principal diagnosis of major depression are accounted for. Mean age was 79.5 years. Results of the assessments all showed significant improvements (p = 0.0000-0.0024). The overall results of the assessments show that the key symptom of sadness is often missing, muted, or overshadowed by other symptoms, and that behavioural disturbancies and functional disability may be important symptoms in geriatric depression., In Conclusion: adequate treatment of major depression in the elderly significantly improves psychopathology, behavioural disorders and physical functioning. When dealing with mental disorders in this age group, awareness of the five clinical presentations in major geriatric depression, i.e. dementoform, somatoform neurotiform, eretic and classic geriatric depression, may target the diagnostic procedure.

During one year all patients with a diagnosis of depression in accordance with ICD-10, referred to a psychogeriatric department, were assessed at admission and discharge with a number of rating scales: The Brief Geriatric Depression Scale, Katz' ADL-index, the Multidimensional Dementia Assessment Scale, the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Functional Ambulation Classification. The department has an active stepwise treatment strategy: SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), potentiation with mianserin, lithium potentiation, ECT. The 87 depressive patients had a median age of 79 and most had one or more severe somatic conditions. Fifty-nine were severely depressed at admission, 19 at discharge; the number of functionally disabled dropped from 22 to seven and the number of cognitively impaired from 35 to 19. In conclusion, a nihilistic approach to treatment in the very old is unfounded.