Prevalence of mental disorders in an urban sample examined at 70, 75 and 79 years of age

The prevalence of mental disorders in a representative sample of old people in Gothenburg, Sweden, was studied at 70, 75 and 79. The study comprised 392 subjects at 70, 302 subjects at 75 and 203 at 79. A case was defined by cut-off points on symptom and sign rating scales, and diagnoses were defined operationally as closely as possible to the ICD-classification. The total psychiatric morbidity was 21.9, 24.2 and 31.0% in the three age groups. The prevalence of schizophrenic and paranoid syndromes was 0.5, 1.7 and 2.5% and of affective disorders 1.0, 2.3 and 0.5%. The prevalence of dementias of psychotic degree was 1.3, 2.3 and 6.9% and of asthenic neuroses corresponding to dementias of mild-moderate degree 2.3, 4.0 and 9.4%. The prevalence of anxiety, depressive and obsessive-compulsive neuroses of moderate-severe degree was 6.6, 4.6 and 3.9% and of mild degree 7.9, 6.0 and 5.9%. The prevalence of active alcoholism in men was 4.2, 3.4 and 3.0% and in women 0.0% in all age groups. Current treatment was reported by 67-85% of subjects with psychoses, about one half of them in psychiatric services, and by 35-65% of subjects with neuroses, about one fifth of them in psychiatric services.