In clinical medicine, diagnostic criteria are not only useful everyday tools for the practicing physician, but also represent a conceptual concentrate of the understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of diseases at a given point in time. Although different sets of diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been developed, the most widely used and best validated by clinico-pathological study to date are the NINCDS-ADRDA (National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke – Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association) criteria which were published in 1984 (McKhann et al., 1984). These criteria are largely based on the exclusion of other conditions that may cause dementia and can be succinctly but fairly summarized as defining AD as an “acquired progressive cognitive, behavioral, and functional impairment with no other obvious cause”. Clearly, the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria were etiology- and pathophysiology-agnostic in that they failed to point at any specific etiology, not even a degenerative one. They were also developed before other important causes of dementia, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, fronto-temporal dementia and subcortical vascular dementia had been fully described and characterized. The recent publication of a substantially revised version of these criteria (Sperling et al. 2011; Albert et al., 2011; McKhann et al., 2011), heralded by a largely European initiative four years ago (Dubois et al., 2007) has been greeted with great interest by the field. The newly proposed criteria reflect the substantial insights on disease pathophysiology gained over the last decades, especially regarding the molecular pathology of AD and the time course of such pathology in relation to clinical symptoms and disease.

Background: Previous studies have found correlations between negative perceptions of old age and perceived quality of life (QoL) among elderly people. It has also been suggested that a denial of aging mechanism is employed and might support ageist attitudes among private-sheltered housing tenants compared with elderly people who live in the community and experience intra-generational interactions. Therefore, we hypothesized that tenants of sheltered housing will report more ageist attitudes towards people of their own age, and report a lower QoL than elderly people who live in the community.

Methods: The sample included 126 volunteers, aged between 64 and 94 years, who live in private-sheltered housing (n = 32) or in the community (n = 94). The participants completed the Fraboni scale of ageism, and a QoL Inventory (SF-36).

Results: People, and men in particular, who live in sheltered housing, reported more intergenerational ageist attitudes than men and women who live in the community. Tenants in sheltered housing expressed lower evaluations of their mental health, but higher evaluations on “social functioning” (QoL scales). Women from sheltered housing reported better mental health than men. Gender and some QoL scales were associated with higher ageism.

Conclusions: Differences in ageist attitudes between both dwelling places can be interpreted according to Social Identity Theory, which refers to the impact of the ingroup on social attitudes. Differences in QoL can be understood by the accessibility of social activities in private-sheltered housing. Gender differences in ageism and QoL can be explained by women's better social adjustment. Findings should be regarded with caution because of the small sample.

Background: There are challenges in attracting and sustaining a competent and stable workforce in aged care, and key issues of concern such as low staff job satisfaction and feelings of not being able to provide high quality care have been described. This study aimed to explore the association between person-centered care provision and job satisfaction in aged care staff.

Methods: Residential aged care staff (n = 297) in Australia completed the measure of job satisfaction and the person-centered care assessment tool. Univariate analyses examined relationships between variables, and multiple linear regression analysis explored the extent to whichperceived person-centredness could predict job satisfaction of staff.

Results: Perceived person-centred care provision was significantly associated with job satisfaction, and person-centred care provision could explain nearly half of the variation in job satisfaction. The regression model with the three person-centered care subscales as predictor variables accounted for 40% of the variance in job satisfaction. Personalizing care had the largest independent influence on job satisfaction, followed by amount of organizational support and degree of environmental accessibility. Personalizing care and amount of organizational support had a statistically significant unique influence.

Conclusions: As person-centered care positively correlated with staff job satisfaction, supporting staff in providing person-centered care can enhance job satisfaction and might facilitate attracting and retaining staff in residential aged care. The findings reiterate a need to shift focus from merely completing care tasks and following organizational routines to providing high quality person-centered care that promotes the good life of residents in aged care.

Background: Nursing aides’ attitudes to elder abuse may serve as predictors of a proclivity to it, and may be influenced by cultural and situational context such as immigration. The purpose of the current study was to examine attitudes to elder abuse in three groups of Israeli nursing aides, namely veteran Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and new immigrants, and their associations to demographic and work-related factors.

Methods: 188 nursing aides (31 veteran Israeli Jews, 38 Israeli Arabs, 119 new immigrants) at 18 nursing homes in Israel completed questionnaires on work stressors, attitudes to elder abuse, sociodemographic and work-related characteristics, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

Results: New immigrant nursing aides reported a higher tendency to condone abusive behaviors than did veteran Jewish and Arab nursing aides. Some 23% of the variance in attitudes was explained by group, demographics, work stressors and burnout. Greater condoning of elder abuse was associated with belonging to the new immigrant group, being unmarried and reporting higher work stressors. There was an interaction effect of work stressors × group, indicating that higher work stressors were related to a stronger tendency to condone elder abuse in the new immigrant group than in the veteran Jewish and Arab groups. Burnout was correlated with greater condoning of elder abuse; this association was not significant when the other variables were controlled for in the regression analysis.

Conclusions: Attitudes condoning elder abuse are related to work stressors, and may be accelerated by the additional stressors on new immigrant nursing aides. Careful planning of the professional guidance and support given to new immigrant nursing aides is important.

Background: This study aimed to test the effects of yoga exercises on the physical and mental health of elderly people with dementia living in long-term care facilities.

Methods: A quasi-experimental, pretest–post-test design was used. A convenience sample of 68 residents in long-term care facilities in southern Taiwan, aged 60 years and above with mild to moderate dementia, was selected. An experimental group of 33 elders participated in a 12-week yoga training program of three 55-minute sessions a week; a control group of 35 elders maintained their usual daily activities. Data were collected before and after completing the 12-week study. Measurements included body composition, cardiopulmonary functions, body flexibility, muscle strength and endurance, balance, joints motion, depression, and problem behaviors.

Results: The yoga-trained participants had better physical and mental health than those who did not participate, including lowered blood pressure, reduced respiration rate, strengthened cardiopulmonary fitness, enhanced body flexibility, improved muscle strength and endurance, improved balance, and increased joints motion (all p values < 0.05). In addition, the depression state (p < 0.001) and problem behaviors (p < 0.001) of these demented elders were significantly reduced.

Conclusion: Yoga exercise has positive benefits for both the physical and mental health of elders with dementia living in long-term care facilities. It is recommended that yoga be included as one of the routine activities in these long-term care facilities.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in patients with dementia, and cause distress for patients. Studies on the prevalence, incidence, persistence and resolution of NPS in patients living in nursing homes are sparse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the course of NPS in patients with dementia living in Norwegian nursing homes.

Methods: 169 patients from seven Norwegian nursing homes were assessed five times over a period of 16 months with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). The severity and the frequency of the NPI were analyzed.

Results: 91.7% of the patients had at least one clinically significant NPS at one or more assessments over the 16 months. Irritability (63.5%), agitation (51.0%) and disinhibition (50.0%) had the highest cumulative prevalence, while irritability (42.6%), disinhibition (37.8%) and depression (31.5%) showed the highest cumulative incidence. Delusion, agitation and irritability were enduring symptoms while the other symptoms had high resolution rates. The severity of the NPS did not vary significantly over time.

Conclusion: Almost every patient in Norwegian nursing homes had at least one clinically significant NPS over 16 months, but individual NPS show a fluctuating course. This should influence how we monitor and treat NPS in patients with dementia.

Background: Given the potential adverse effects of antipsychotics, high use in nursing homes creates concern. Our study goal was to explore the use of antipsychotics in relation to resident characteristics, and to assess the appropriateness of antipsychotic prescribing in Belgian nursing homes.

Methods: Data were used from a cross-sectional study (Prescribing in Homes for the Elderly; PHEBE) conducted in 76 nursing homes in Belgium. Antipsychotics were classified into typical and atypical, using the anatomical therapeutic and chemical classification. Ten inappropriate antipsychotic prescribing indicators were selected from the updated Beers criteria (2003), Bergen District Nursing Home Study (BEDNURS) indicators, and Screening Tool of Older People's Prescriptions criteria (STOPP).

Results: The residents' mean age was 84.8 years, 78.1% of whom were female. The prevalence of antipsychotic utilization was 32.9%. Antipsychotics were mainly indicated for dementia-related agitation, and psychosis with/without dementia. Higher use of antipsychotics was found for dementia (OR: 3.27; 95% CI: 2.61–4.09), insomnia (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.10–1.73), depression (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.03–1.65), and age <80 years (OR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.38–2.33). Inappropriate antipsychotic prescribing indicators scoring the highest among users were: long-term use (92.6%), use despite risk of falling (45.6%), combined use with other psychotropics (31.8%), and duplicate use (15.1%). Inappropriate prescribing was associated with depression (OR: 3.41) and insomnia (OR: 2.17).

Conclusion: The indicator-driven analysis of antipsychotic prescribing quality revealed a need for improvement, with the main prescribing problems relating to duration and combination of therapies. Risks/benefits of off-label use need to be evaluated more consciously at the start of therapy, and at periodic re-evaluations.

Background: The goal of this study is to determine patterns of psychotropic drug use (PDU), the association with neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), and the variability across dementia types in nursing home residents with dementia. In addition, PDU was analyzed across multiple indications.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study over a two-year period from 2006 to 2008, which involved 14 dementia special care units in nine nursing homes. A total of 117 residents with dementia participated in the study, of whom 35% had Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and 11% vascular dementia (VaD). PDU was classified according to anatomical therapeutic chemical-classification as either “present” or “absent”.

Results: The majority of residents had moderately severe to severe dementia. At all successive assessments, almost two-thirds of residents received any psychotropic drug (PD) and almost one-third continued to receive any PD. Of all PDs, antipsychotics (APs) were prescribed most frequently. Fewer residents started with antidepressants, but continued to receive antidepressants at higher percentages. Anxiolytics showed an intermittent course, but a subgroup of 9% showed two-year continuation. Once started on PDs at baseline, residents continued to use PDs at high percentages: three-quarters continued to receive APs for at least six months. Half of residents received at least one PD; one-fifth received at least two PDs simultaneously. Residents with AD received more hypnotics and antidementia drugs; residents with VaD received more antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics and anticonvulsants.

Conclusions: PDs have different utilization patterns, but overall, consistently high continuation rates were found. These results warrant scrutiny of continuous PDU.

Background: To assess the long-term impact of the “Reducing Use of Sedatives” (RedUSe) trial on antipsychotic and benzodiazepine prevalence and dosage.

Methods: RedUSe was a six-month controlled trial conducted in 25 Tasmanian nursing homes in 2008–9 which led to significant reductions in benzodiazepine and antipsychotic use and a doubling of dose reductions of these agents. In a follow-up study, data on psychotropic use was collected from all nursing homes a year after the final RedUSe measure. Mean daily doses for each home were calculated by converting antipsychotic and benzodiazepine doses to chlorpromazine and diazepam equivalents, respectively. To determine the long-term impact of the project, 6-month and initial baseline data were compared to the 18-month follow-up data.

Results: 1578 residents were audited for the follow-up measure. In the 18 months since the RedUSe project was instigated, benzodiazepine prevalence fell by 25% in intervention nursing homes. Similarly, the mean daily diazepam equivalence in these homes had fallen by 24%. In contrast, after a significant reduction during the RedUSe trial, antipsychotic prevalence returned to baseline levels in intervention nursing homes, with mean chlorpromazine equivalence remaining relatively constant with time. There was a delayed reduction in benzodiazepine and antipsychotic use in the control homes.

Conclusions: Both benzodiazepine usage and mean daily diazepam equivalence continued to decline in intervention nursing homes in the year following the RedUSe trial. However, the effect of the RedUSe intervention on antipsychotic prevalence and dosage was not sustained.

Background: The prevalence of psychotropic drug use is high among the elderly, but research on how psychotropic drugs are used among individuals aged 90 years and older is limited. An increased knowledge on this topic may contribute to improved prescribing patterns in this vulnerable population. The aim of this study was to assess the use of psychotropic drugs in relation to mental disorders and institutionalization among 95-year-olds and to identify use of potentially inappropriate psychotropic drugs.

Methods: All 95-year-olds born in 1901–1903 living in nursing homes or community settings in Gothenburg, Sweden were invited to participate. The response rate was 65% and 338 95-year-olds were examined (263 women, 75 men). Psychotropic drug use in relation to mental disorders and institutionalization was assessed. Information on drug use was collected primarily from multi-dose drug dispensing lists. Participants were examined by trained psychiatrists using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale and a battery of cognitive tests. Dementia, depression, anxiety and psychotic disorders were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition, revised (DSM-III-R).

Results: Sixty percent of the 95-year-old participants used psychotropic drugs; hypnotics were most common (44%). Potentially inappropriate psychotropics were observed in one third (33%). Antidepressants were used by 7% of the participants without dementia who fulfilled criteria for a depressive disorder, while 56% used hypnotics and 30% used anxiolytics.

Conclusions: The high prevalence of psychotropic drug use and the nonspecific nature of these treatments among 95-year-olds indicate a need for improvement in prescribing patterns.

Background: Older people are at high risk of experiencing psychotropic-related adverse drug events. The objective of this study was to compare and contrast the use of psychotropic drugs among community-dwelling people aged ≥75 years in 1998 and 2004.

Methods: Comparable random samples of people aged ≥75 years were extracted from the population register in Kuopio, Finland, in 1998 (n = 700) and 2003 (n = 1000). In 1998 and 2004, 523 and 700 community-dwelling people respectively participated in nurse interviews, during which demographic, diagnostic and drug use data were elicited. Logistic regression was used to compute unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the prevalence of psychotropic drug use in 2004 compared to 1998.

Results: The unadjusted prevalence of total psychotropic (37.3% and 38.4%, OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.83–1.33), anxiolytic, hypnotic and sedative (29.6% and 31.3%, OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.85–1.38), and antidepressant (10.7% and 11.9%, OR 1.12, 95% CI 0.78–1.61) use were similar in 1998 and 2004. There was a decrease in the unadjusted prevalence of antipsychotic use (9.2% and 5.7%, OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.39–0.93). After adjusting for socioeconomic and health status differences, there was an increase in the prevalence of total psychotropic (adjusted OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.01–1.70) and antidepressant (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.06–2.40) use.

Conclusion: The unadjusted prevalence of psychotropic drug use remained stable between 1998 and 2004. However, in adjusted analyses there was a small increase in the prevalence of any psychotropic drug use and antidepressant use specifically.

Background: This population-based study examined the relative and combined relationships of chronic medical illness (CMI) and depressive symptoms with health care utilization among older adults in South Korea.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of 3224 older adults participating in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) were categorized into four groups based on clinical characteristics: CMI only; depressive symptoms only; CMI and depressive symptoms; and neither CMI nor depressive symptoms. We estimated the use of various health care services by the groups while adjusting for clinical and sociodemographic characteristics.

Results: Depressive symptoms, as measured by the short-form Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D10), were prevalent, often occurring together with CMI in community-dwelling older adults in South Korea. Having depressive symptoms was positively associated with the use of inpatient services, outpatient physician services, and public health centers. The odds of using health care services were larger among older people with both depressive symptoms and CMI than depressive symptoms only.

Conclusions: Self-reported depressive symptoms and self-reported CMI are prevalent among older adults in South Korea, often occurring together and possibly increasing health care utilization. These findings imply a need for chronic disease management targeting older people with complex mental and medical conditions and evaluation of its effects on health outcomes and service use.

Objectives: Information on the prevalence and risk factors for depressive disorders in old age is of considerable interest for the assessment of future needs of the health care system. The aim of the study is to determine age- and gender-specific prevalence of major depression (MD), minor depression (MiD), and depressive symptoms, and to analyze risk factors associated with depressive symptoms.

Methods: A representative sample of the German population of 1,659 individuals aged 60 to 85 years were visited at home and answered self-rating questionnaires. Depressive symptoms and syndromes (MD, MiD) were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Factors associated with depressive symptoms were determined with linear regression models for the total sample and for men and women separately.

Results: Depressive symptoms were found in 28.7% of the participants, while 6.6% were affected by MD or MiD. The highest prevalence of MD and depressive symptoms was found in the oldest age groups. MiD showed an unsteady course across age groups in both sexes. In the total sample as well as in the male subsample, depressive symptoms were significantly associated with increasing age, lower household income, an increasing number of medical conditions, and lower social support. In women only, the number of medical conditions and lacking social support were significantly associated with depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Depressive symptoms are common in old age and occur on a spectrum ranging from very mild forms to MD. The potential modifiability of a number of risk factors for depressive symptoms opens possibilities of secondary prevention such as treatment of chronic diseases as well as support in requirements of daily living.

Background: The objectives of the study were to characterize and compare the cognitive profile and natural evolution of patients presenting late-onset psychotic symptoms (LOPS: onset ≥50 years old) to those of elderly patients (≥50 years old) with life-long/early-onset schizophrenia (EOS: onset <40 years old).

Methods: Neuropsychological profiles of 15 LOPS patients were compared to those of 17 elderly EOS patients and to those of two control groups (n = 11/group). The evolution of the two patient groups was compared using an independent diagnostic consensual procedure involving a geriatric psychiatry physician/clinician and a neuropsychologist blinded to the initial psychiatric diagnosis.

Results: EOS presented significant memory and executive impairments when compared to controls but there was no significant difference between LOPS and their controls when age and education were taken into account. However, a detailed inspection of normative data suggests more executive impairments in LOPS than in EOS. The clinical judgment of experts was in favour of significant cognitive deficits with or without dementia in most LOPS (82.3%–94.1%) and EOS (80.0%–93.3%) patients. Regarding evolution, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) were the most common clinical diagnoses made by geriatric psychiatry physicians/clinicians for the LOPS (40%). In addition, 20% of LOPS versus 5.9% of EOS patients met the diagnostic criteria for dementia by consensus of the experts. Cerebral abnormalities were confirmed (CT scan; SPECT) in 73.3% of LOPS patients.

Conclusion: The present results suggest cognitive deficits (mostly of executive functions) and vascular and neurodegenerative vulnerability in LOPS. Further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm the present findings.

Background: Agraphia in Korean patients may be different from agraphia in other patients who use alphabetical writing systems due to the “visuoconstructional script” characteristics of the Korean writing system, Hangul. Patients with early onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) have a severe degree of hypometabolism in the parietal area, which is known to be involved in processing visuospatial function. Thus, we explored the diverse error patterns manifested in writing single syllables in Korean patients with EOAD.

Methods: A study sample of 35 patients with EOAD and 18 healthy controls (HC) performed a Hangul writing task. We analyzed the erroneous responses of the subjects according to visuoconstructional and linguistic characteristics. In addition, we evaluated the relationship between Hangul writing and the neuropsychological variables as well as the severity of dementia.

Results: When comparing the total number of erroneous responses between EOAD and HC groups, the performances of EOAD patients were significantly worse than those of HC. EOAD patients demonstrated visuoconstructional errors even in the early stages of the disease. Severity of dementia and multiple cognitive domains such as attention, language, immediate memory, and frontal executive functions significantly correlated with the performance of Hangul writing.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that patients with EOAD exhibit not only linguistic errors but also visuoconstructional manifestations of agraphia, which are associated with cognitive impairments in the multiple domains.

Background: Apathy is a common and important behavioral syndrome in various neuropsychiatric diseases, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). So far, only few studies have compared the neuropsychological correlates of apathy in patients with MCI and dementia. The aim of the current study was to examine the association between apathy and neuropsychological functioning in patients with MCI and AD.

Methods: Two-hundred-and-sixty AD patients and 178 MCI patients visiting the Memory Clinic of the Maastricht University Medical Centre participated in the study. Linear regression analysis, corrected for age, gender, level of education and depression, was performed to reveal cross-sectional associations between apathy and scores on neuropsychological tests of memory, attention, psychomotor speed and executive functioning.

Results: In patients with MCI, apathy was characterized by decreased verbal fluency and psychomotor tracking. In AD, patients with apathy differed from non-apathetic patients only on a verbal fluency task.

Conclusion: Apathy is related to executive dysfunction in the early phases of cognitive decline. In particular, in the prodromal phase of AD, apathy seems to be characterized by poor initiating. In the more advanced stages of cognitive deterioration, associations between apathy and specific neuropsychological correlates may be obscured by the more severe neuropathology. Awareness of apathy in the early phase of cognitive impairment may help in early diagnosis of AD.

Background: There is a high prevalence of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) amongst older adults, many of whom experience significant distress. It remains unclear why some older adults with SMCs experience more distress than others. The Common Sense Model of Illness Perceptions has been used to explain patients’ differential response to illness based on the beliefs they hold about their illness and subsequent selection of coping strategies. The present study aimed to examine the role of perceptions and coping styles in predicting anxiety and depression in older adults with SMCs.

Methods: 98 participants with SMCs completed the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Memory Problems (IPQ-M), Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the contribution of illness perceptions and coping to the explanation of variance in depression and anxiety.

Results: Perceptions of SMCs were found to predict both depression and anxiety while coping strategies did not. Perceptions of serious consequences of SMCs and causal attributions predicted greater depression, while attribution of memory problems to lack of blood to the brain was the only predictor of increased anxiety.

Conclusions: Illness perceptions predicted depression and anxiety in older adults with SMCs. Contrary to the Common-Sense Model coping style was not found to be an important determinant of psychological distress. The findings provide a basis for developing interventions to reduce psychological distress in older adults with subjective memory complaints. Targeting causal attributions and perceived consequences of SMCs may help to improve well-being.

Background: Many countries have adopted new mental health legislation, with the detention of adults for treatment of mental disorders remaining an integral part of such policies. However, there are relatively few publications on the use of mental health legislation in the detention of older adults. This paper examines the civil detention of older adults in one Scottish region under successive mental health legislation.

Method: This prospective study collected data primarily by clinician-based interviews on all emergency detentions under the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 of older adults in 1994 and compared these with all emergency and initial short-term detentions under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 of older adults during 2008 in the same Scottish region.

Results: There were a total of 124 detentions, with an initial rate of 68 increasing to 141 detentions per 100,000 of the respective over-65 year age populations, a two-fold increase. Compared to the 1994 patient cohort, the 2008 cohort had higher rates of over 85-year-olds (18.4% v 5.4%) and organic mental disorders (74.7% v 56.8%) and were significantly more likely to be detained by consultant psychiatrists (73.6% v 18.9%) during working hours (87.4% v 48.6%) and proceed to six-month detention orders (31% v 10.8%).

Conclusion: The observed higher rates and longer periods of detention in the 2008 cohort may reflect changes in clinical attitudes and legal requirements from a previous reliance on the common law doctrine of necessity to the requirements of a more legalistic framework, and may signal future clinical requirements, given the aging population, pointing towards the need for earlier recognition and management of clinical issues in an attempt to minimize the “necessity” of clinico-legal intervention.

Background: The aging population in prison is growing rapidly in the United Kingdom. This trend is also found in other countries worldwide. As this population increases prison authorities will need to adjust the custody process to accommodate increasing mental and physical frailty.

Methods: This study examined the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and physical disorders, including dementia, in prisoners aged 50 years and over from four prisons in and around Staffordshire to see whether detection and treatment rates have improved over the past decade during which there has been a dramatic increase in the number of older prisoners. Subjects were assessed using the Geriatric Mental State Examination, the Mini-Mental State Examination and Short Form 12 and their prison records.

Results: Sixty prisoners (50%) had a diagnosable mental disorder, with depression being most common, and 15 (12%) prisoners had signs of cognitive impairment. Only 18% of those with a psychiatric diagnosis were prescribed medication from the appropriate class. Physical problems were also common in this population with an average self-report of 2.26 problems per prisoner.

Conclusions: Mental disorders in older prisoners are common, but despite recent training initiatives they often go undetected and untreated. Prisoners themselves accurately self-report mental disorder, but the best way of detecting dementia in the prison population remains unclear. The psychological and physical health of this prison population was poorer than that of their community-based peers.