Prevalence of Depression among Recently Admitted Long-Term Care Patients in Norwegian Nursing Homes: Associations with Diagnostic Workup and Use of Antidepressants

Aims: We aimed to establish the prevalence of depression among recently admitted long-term care patients and to examine associations with diagnostic initiatives and treatment as recorded in patients' medical records. Materials and Methods: Eighty-eight long-term care patients were included. Depression was diagnosed according to the ICD-10 criteria; patients were screened for depression using the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) and for dementia with the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Results: Depression was found in 25% of the patients according to the ICD-10 criteria and in 31% according to a CSDD sum score of ≥8. Diagnostic initiatives were documented in the medical records of half of the patients with depression. Forty-four percent of the patients were prescribed antidepressants and 23% actually received them for the treatment of depression. Conclusion: Depression was prevalent among recently admitted long-term care patients, but diagnostic initiatives were too rarely used. Antidepressants were commonly prescribed, but depression was the indication for treatment in only half of the cases. Screening for depression should be mandatory on admission.