Psychiatric Morbidity and Stressful Life Events in Elderly -A Hospital Based Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND There has been increasing prevalence of mental health problems in the elderly, with stressful life events being a precipitating factor and hence impairing the quality of life.METHODS263 patients of age 60 years and above attending psychiatry outpatient department and admitted in medical wards were included in the study. Patients with MMSE score ≥24 were included in the study. MINI PLUS was used to assess the psychiatric morbidity. Life events were assessed by PSLES. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used for analysis.RESULTSOut of 263 patients, 207 (78.7%) were in the age group 60-69 yrs. The common psychiatric morbidity was found to be depression (43%), substance use disorders (16.7%) and anxiety spectrum disorders (15.5%). The most common precipitating stressful life events were family conflict (9.5%), son or daughter leaving home (8.7%), death of spouse (6.5%) and financial loss (6.5%). The common psychiatric morbidity precipitated by stressful life events were depression (44.4%) and substance use (18.2%) followed by anxiety and stress related disorders (22.2%).CONCLUSIONSThe above study emphasizes that psychiatric morbidity is common in the geriatric population, of which depression is the most common mental health problem. Stressful life events can lead to mental health problems. These factors impair the quality of life of the elderly. Hence it necessitates psychiatrists and physicians to recognize mental health problems at the earliest and provide the necessary support to improve the quality of life.