Frequency of anxiety disorders in the elderly living in a Social Welfare residential home

Background/ Aim : Anxiety disorders in the elderly are often underestimated.-. The purpose of this study was to detect anxiety disorders in a sample of older people living in a Social Welfare residential home.Material and Methods: 70 persons aged 65-90 years old accommodated in a Public Social Welfare residential home in a Greek province were enrolled in the study. The Greek standardized version of Short Anxiety Screening Test (SAST) was used. Data analysis was performed with the parametric method ANOVA, using SPSS 17.0. Statistical significance was set at p=0.05 Results : SAST screening was positive for anxiety disorders in the majority of the elderly( 36 individuals , 51,4%), marginal result was traced in 15 individuals (21,4%), while a negative result was found in 19 individuals. All three aforementioned groups differed statistically significant from one another in the SAST total score. The loss of control of their lives was the most important issue for the elderly in the study(Mean Value: 3,34) in a range of 1-4. Conclusions : Older persons living in nursing homes probably exhibits high percentages of anxiety disorders. Attempts have to be made in order a prompt and appropriate therapy of these disorders to be implemented.