TY - JOUR
T1 - Dementia and depression
T2 - Two frequent disorders of the aged in primary health care in Greece
AU - Argyriadou, Stella
AU - Melissopoulou, Haritini
AU - Krania, Evanthia
AU - Karagiannidou, Agathi
AU - Vlachonicolis, Ioannis
AU - Lionis, Christos
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Background. Dementia and depression are very common disorders among elderly people and their presence decreases the well-being of the aged. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of dementia and depression among elderly people living in different settings in the catchment area of the Chrisoupolis health centre (HCCh) in northern Greece. Methods. A total of 536 patients aged 65 years and over, including 48 subjects living in an old people's home, 75 subjects who were taking part in the activities of the open centre for the elderly and 413 subjects randomly selected from those visiting the HCCh, were interviewed by the primary health care team of the HCCh. Medical and family history data were recorded, while cognitive and mood disorders were assessed by using the Mini Mental State Examination and Geriatric Depression Screening Scale. Results. At the time of the examination, 37.6% of the men and 41.6% of the women showed various degrees of cognitive impairment, while 29.9% of the women and 19.6% of the men showed mild to moderate depression. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension frequently were found to co-exist with depression and dementia. Conclusion. The results reaffirm that there is a high prevalence of the studied mental disorders in older patients in the out-patient setting in Greece. A set of recommendations to Greek GPs has now been formulated, with specific emphasis on the use of different screening tools and the appropriate treatment of the most frequently co-existing chronic diseases.
AB - Background. Dementia and depression are very common disorders among elderly people and their presence decreases the well-being of the aged. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of dementia and depression among elderly people living in different settings in the catchment area of the Chrisoupolis health centre (HCCh) in northern Greece. Methods. A total of 536 patients aged 65 years and over, including 48 subjects living in an old people's home, 75 subjects who were taking part in the activities of the open centre for the elderly and 413 subjects randomly selected from those visiting the HCCh, were interviewed by the primary health care team of the HCCh. Medical and family history data were recorded, while cognitive and mood disorders were assessed by using the Mini Mental State Examination and Geriatric Depression Screening Scale. Results. At the time of the examination, 37.6% of the men and 41.6% of the women showed various degrees of cognitive impairment, while 29.9% of the women and 19.6% of the men showed mild to moderate depression. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension frequently were found to co-exist with depression and dementia. Conclusion. The results reaffirm that there is a high prevalence of the studied mental disorders in older patients in the out-patient setting in Greece. A set of recommendations to Greek GPs has now been formulated, with specific emphasis on the use of different screening tools and the appropriate treatment of the most frequently co-existing chronic diseases.
KW - Dementia
KW - Depression
KW - Elderly people
KW - General practice
KW - Greece
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035145201&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 11145635
AN - SCOPUS:0035145201
SN - 0263-2136
VL - 18
SP - 87
EP - 91
JO - Family Practice
JF - Family Practice
IS - 1
ER -