Objective: To assess psychiatric morbidity in North Indian elderly females.
Design: This study conducted in 1000 patients of elderly age group (> 60 yrs) attending geriatric clinic in S.P. Medical College and Associated Group of Hospitals, Bikaner in the last 2 years with the help of Departments of Psychiatric and Gynecology.
Materials and Methods: In this study, we planned to evaluate psychiatric morbidity in elderly females who are attending a geriatric clinic, and we have used various tools for the diagnosis of common psychiatric illnesses with various tools including:
1. A semistructured proforma including details of personal identifications, sociodemographic variables and details, history and physical examination,
2. Goldberg's general health questionnaire (Hindi version),
3. Presumptive stressful life events scales,
4. Indian psychiatric interview schedule,
5. Back's depression inventory, and
6. Psychoticism, Neuroticism, Extraversion Inventory.
Results: In our study, 94% were married and 6% were widowed or separated in both groups. 64% were from nuclear families whereas 36% were from joint families . Professional wise distribution 91% were housewives whereas only 9% were semiprofessionals. In our study, 45% have scored more than 12 on the general health questionnaire having major gynecological diagnosis of fibroid uterus dysfunctional uterine bleeding and cervicitis, while in 55 % of patients where the GHQ was < 12, gynecological diagnosis was pruritis vulvae and small multiple uterine fibroid. Total of 45% patients were identified as probable psychiatric cases in study group as compared to 27% person in a control group on the basis of psychiatric morbidity screening tool general health questionnaire (p< 0.01). The diagnostic distribution of 45% probable psychiatric cases included in the study group were mild depression 7%, moderate depression 5%, severe depression 11%, mixed anxiety depressive disorder 8%, generalized anxiety disorders 2% not fulfilling the ICD-10 criteria were 12%. While in control group 9%,3%,3%,0%,0%, and 12% respectively. The Beck’s depression inventory showed that the majority of cases from both the groups had mild depression, but there were more numbers of severe depressed cases in study group as compared to the control group (x2 6.35), (df 1), (p<0.05).
Conclusion: There was a clearly greater psychiatric morbidity in the study group of elderly females. Neuroticism was the dominating personality tract in the elderly women and was clearly related to the psychiatric symptoms present. 32% of the patients forming the study group received psychiatric diagnosis according to the ICD-10. Mild depression was present in 7%, moderate depression 7%, and severe depression in 11%. Whereas only 15% patients forming the control group could be diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria, 9% had mild depression and 3 had moderate and severe depression respectively.
Back to S067 Psychogeriatrics Around the World: Local Research Projects with Global Implications
Back to The Eleventh International Congress