Prevalence of mental illness in an elderly community dwelling population using AGECAT

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Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of a range of mental disorders in an elderly community dwelling population in Dublin using AGECAT, a reliable and standardised computerised diagnostic system that has been previously validated in community epidemiological surveys.Methods: A total of 451 individuals over the age of 65 in a GP group practice were interviewed using AGECAT.Results: Approximately one in five subjects had a mental illness according to AGECAT criteria. The prevalence of depression was 13.1% and did not change appreciably with age. 5.5% of subjects met organic ‘case’ criteria, and the frequency of organic cases increased with age, approximating 15% in the over 80 year age group. Neurotic disorders occurred with very low frequency, representing 1.1% of the subjects tested.Conclusions: These findings have implications for mentalhealth services planning at a local level, and underscore the utility of AGECAT as a tool for comparative crosscultural epidemiological surveys.