Mental disorders of geriatric inpatients: symptom characteristics and treatment outcome.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe neuropsychiatric disorders of geriatric inpatients, to investigate associations of psychopathological symptomatology with clinical variables and to determine its impact on treatment outcome. From January to April 2018, treatment data of geriatric inpatient records were collected retrospectively. Clinical diagnoses of neuropsychiatric disorders, that is, depression, dementia, and delirium, were identified. Clinical correlations were calculated by χ2-tests and t-tests. Confounding variables for determined correlations were ascertained by analyses of variance. Functional measurements (Barthel Index, Timed Up and Go, Tinetti Test, and De Morton Immobility Index) were assessed at start and end of geriatric inpatient treatment. The mean age of the included 280 inpatients was 84 years, 71% were female, and the mean duration of treatment was 19.5 days. Twenty-nine percent of cases suffered from dementia, 27% from depression, and 15% from delirium at the time of geriatric treatment onset. Mentally ill inpatients, in addition, presented with a significantly higher number of comorbidities, compared to the group of mentally healthy inpatients. In contrast to the dementia and the delirium group of inpatients, prescription of analgetics was highest among the mentally healthy inpatients and inpatients with depression. Improvement was observed in each of the defined groups, and significant functional differences between all groups were found. Neuropsychiatric disorders occur quite often in a geriatric hospital department, especially depression and dementia. Clinical correlations determined in this study suggest a close relationship of mental and somatic disorders in geriatric inpatients. This study further demonstrates that neuropsychiatric disorders in multimorbid, elderly patients do not prevent functional improvement.