Chinese psychogeriatric patients in a general hospital

A retrospective study of 100 consecutive elderly Chinese patients (29 males, 71 females) aged 65 years and above admitted to a general hospital psychiatric unit, showed a predominance of depressive disorders (n=36) and dementia (n=26). Depressed patients (mean age=72.0 ; SD=5.8) were significantly younger than demented patients (mean age=75.6 ; SD=6.7) (p < 0.03). Patients with depressive disorders presented with low mood, sleep disturbance, attempted suicide as well as vague somatic symptoms in the absence of organic causes. Those suffering from dementia presented with cognitive dysfunctions (especially memory impairment), confusional state, deteriorated self care and sleep disturbance. More than three quarters of the depressed patients were prescribed antidepressants, and five had required electroconvulsive therapy. Almost nine out of every ten patients had co-existing physical disorders, with one in two being afflicted by two or more physical disorders ; the average number of physical disorders was 1.55 per patient. The commonest were cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension (37%) and ischaemic heart diseases (12%). Endocrine disorders like diabetes mellitus constituted 21%. The mean duration of admission of all patients was 16.3 days (SD=12.6 days.)