An investigation was undertaken to determine the fate of 100 consecutive female admissions over 65 to a mental hospital. The patients were admitted to Kingsway Hospital, Derby, between October 1958 and December 1959 and were each followed up for a year or until death. These 100 patients formed 24% of the total female admissions for the period. The catchment area from which they came includes the County Borough of Derby (a heavy-industrial town) with a total of over-65 female population of 8,724; Shardlow Urban District (a rather rambling and mainly country area) with 5,633; and Long Eaton Urban District (a light-engineering town) with 1,934. Thus the total over-65 female population was 16,311. Working from these figures the expected admissions from these areas would be (in %): 53: 35: 12, whereas the actual figures were (in %): 62: 30: 8. This shows, as one would expect, a proportionately higher admission rate from the industrial areas.