Dual diagnosis in elders discharged from a psychiatric hospital
C.E. Blixen
Bok Engelsk 1997
| Utgitt | 1997
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|---|---|
| Omfang | 6 s.
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| Opplysninger | Recent evidence indicates persons 60 years and over experience significant alcohol and substance abuse problems. Since a combination of alcoholism and depression is likely to increase the relative risk of suicide, it is important to examine the prevalence of dualdiagnosis in older adults. The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence and correlates of dual diagnosis in older psychiatric inpatient populations and compare our results with findings from studies of younger hospitalized dually diagnosed patients. A retrospective chart audit was performed on 101 elders who were discharged from three psychiatric hospitals. Clinical variables that were examined included length of hospital stay, psychiatric and medical diagnoses, medications and history of suicidal ideation orintent. The leading psychiatric disorder diagnosis for our sample of hospitalized psychiatric elders was depression. Over one-third(37.6%) had a substance abuse disorder in addition to a psychiatric disorder, and almost three-fourths (71%) of this 'dual diagnosis'group abused alcohol and 29% abused both alcohol and other substances. In addition, significantly more elders in the 'dualdiagnosis' group (17.7%) than in the group with only a mentaldisorder diagnosis (3.3%) made a suicide attempt prior to admission to the hospital. Because affective disorders in conjunction with alcohol abuse are the most frequently found disorders in completedsuicides, our findings have important relevance for the advocating of routine use of diagnostic assessment and screening for both substance abuse and mental disorders in this population.
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| Emner |
