Prevalence of depression and cognitive deficit in a geriatric population

Depression and cognitive disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in geriatric patients, although prevalence of such diseases vary in the literature, depending on the existence of associated pathologies and social conditions of the patients at time of diagnosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of depression and cognitive deficit in patients, admitted to our structures and subsequently the role of the inpatient treatment on the cognitive and emotional functions. Geriatric patients were included into this observational study, who were admitted to the department of medical longterm care, residential assistance and geriatric medicine of the Madonna della Letizia private clinic in Velletri, Rome. One-hundred-eight patients were evaluated. Patient characteristics include age range 65-95 years; mean age was 79.7 years; 52 patients (31 females and 21 males) were in the department for acute patients and 56 patients (41 females and 15 males) were admitted to long-care and residential assistance. The mini mental state examination (MMSE) and geriatric depression scale (GDS) evaluation scales were applied for their easy administration and comprehension. The results obtained have revealed that the prevalence of cognitive deficit (MMSE ≤ 23) in outpatients was 50 %, and in inpatients 83.9 %. The prevalence of depression (GDS ≥ 14) in outpatients was 26.9 % and in inpatients 51.7 %. The results obtained in this study show that, in agreement with the relevant literature, the prevalence of the cognitive deficit and of depression is substantially modified by environmental conditions; in this instance it's higher in the inpatients