Psychiatric hospital admission and long-term care in patients with very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis

Objective In this register‐based study the rates and durations of psychiatric hospitalizations were compared between patients with very‐late‐onset schizophrenia‐like psychosis (VLOSLP, n = 918) and elderly patients with illness onset before 60 years (n = 6142). The proportion of patients ending up in long‐term care (LTC) or long‐lasting psychiatric hospital care (LLP) was also studied. Methods A sample of patients with schizophrenia aged 65 or over was collected from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Psychiatric hospitalizations were calculated per year, and logistic regression was used to compare onset groups and factors associated with ending up in LTC/LLP. Results Between 1999 and 2003, 27% of patients with VLOSLP and 23% of patients with earlier onset had at least one psychiatric hospitalization (p = 0.020). When the rates of patients' stays in psychiatric hospital per year were compared, the only difference was that in the first year 14% (141/918) and 11% (679/6142) had at least one day in psychiatric hospital (p