Psychological Dysfunction and Physical Health Among Elderly Medical Inpatients

One hundred and fifty randomly selected geriatric medical inpatients were evaluated for the presence of psychological dysfunction using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) and Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) methodology. Objective and subjective measures of physical health status were independently taken and related to the presence of a RDC diagnosis. Results indicated that a large portion of the sample (27.3%) had at least one psychological disorder and that 15.3% of the total sample had a depressive disorder. Comorbid depression was associated with the greatest level of psychological distress and dysfunction and with the poorest physical health status. Finally, depressed elderly patients were less likely than patients with nondepressive psychopathology and control subjects to receive a diagnosis of mental disorder or to receive antidepressant medications during their admission, suggesting that comorbid depression is underrecognized and under-treated in primary care.