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Correlates of psychotic symptoms among elderly outpatients
Author(s) -
Holroyd Suzanne,
Laurie Susan
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199905)14:5<379::aid-gps924>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - psychosis , delirium , dementia , psychiatry , depression (economics) , medical diagnosis , organic mental disorders , delusion , psychology , psychotic depression , medicine , disease , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Psychotic symptoms presenting in late life can offer a diagnostic challenge to the clinician. In this study, 140 geriatric outpatients were prospectively examined for psychotic symptoms and assessed on a number of demographic and clinical variables. Cognition was assessed using the Mini‐Mental State Exam. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by DSM‐III‐R criteria. Twenty‐seven per cent ( N =38) had psychotic symptoms, delusions being the most common type. Patients with psychosis were significantly more likely to have a previous history of psychosis, to have a lower MMSE and to live in a nursing home. Four diagnoses accounted for 79.5% of all psychotic patients. In order of frequency, these were dementia, major depression, delirium and organic psychosis (organic hallucinosis, organic delusional disorder). Psychotic patients were significantly more likely to have a diagnosis of dementia, delirium or organic psychosis than non‐psychotics, but depression was significantly more likely to occur in patients without psychosis. Although psychotic symptoms occur in a variety of illnesses, elderly patients with psychosis should be carefully evaluated for these disorders. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.