Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T15:00:34.906Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Epidemiology of paranoid symptoms in an elderly population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Yvonne Forsell  and
A. Scott Henderson
Yvonne Forsell*
Affiliation:
Stockholm Gerontology Research Center, Stockholm, Sweden
A. Scott Henderson
Affiliation:
NHMRC Social Psychiatry Research Institute, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
*
Dr Y. Forsell, Stockholm Gerontology Research Center, Olivecronasv. 4, 5-113 82 Stockholm. Sweden. Tel: 46 8 690 5819. Fax: 46 8 647 0078
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Elderly people with paranoid symptoms are a taxing group for medical and social services, but studies of the prevalence of these symptoms in the general elderly population are rare. This study aimed to estimate the community prevalence and to identify some associated variables.

Method

A community sample of 1420 elderly people, was extensively examined by nurses and physicians.

Results

Paranoid ideation was found in 6.3% of the sample. The prevalence in people with cognitive dysfunction (n=381, 12.1%) was higher than in those without (n=1039, 2.6%). Once cognitive impairment had been controlled the associated variables were: being divorced, being female, having depressive symptoms, using psychotropic drugs, having no friends or visitors, using community care and being an immigrant.

Conclusion

Paranoid symptoms in this elderly population were associated most strongly with cognitive impairment. Other associated variables pointed to a higher level of social isolation than others in the community.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 172 , Issue 5 , May 1998 , pp. 429 - 432
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Almeids, O. P., Howard, R. J., Lavy, R., et al (1995) Psychotic states arising in late life (late paraphrenia). The role of risk factors. British Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 215–228.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM–IV). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Åsberg, M., Montgomery, S. A., Perris, C., et al (1978) A comprehensive psychopathological rating scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 271, 5–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christenson, R. & Blazer, D. (1984) Epidemiology of persecutory ideation in an elderly population in the community. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 1088–1091.Google Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. & McHugh, P. R. (1975) ‘Mini-Mental State’: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.Google Scholar
Fratiglioni, L., Viitanen, M., Bäkman, L., et al (1992) Occurrence of dementia in advanced age: the study design of the Kungsholmen Project. Neuroepidemiology, 11, 29–36.Google Scholar
Fratiglioni, L., Viitanen, M., Von Strauss, E., et al (1997) Very old women at highest risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Incidence data from the Kungsholmen project, Stockholm. Neurology, 41, 1886–1892.Google Scholar
Grahame, P. S. (1984) Schizophrenia in old age (late paraphrenia). British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 493–495.Google ScholarPubMed
Gustafson, L. & Risberg, J. (1992) Deceptions and delusions in Alzheimer's dementia and frontal lobe dementia. In Delusions and Hallucinations in Old Age (eds C. Katona & R. Levy), pp. 216–227. London: Gaskell.Google Scholar
Katz, S., Ford, A. B., Moskowitz, R. W., et al (1963) Studies of illness in the aged. Journal of American Medical Association, 185, 914–919.Google Scholar
Kay, D. W. K., Beamish, P. & Roth, M. (1964) Old age mental disorder in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Part I. A study of prevalence. British Journal of Psychiatry, 110, 146–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotrla, K. J., Chacko, R. C., Harper, R. G., et al (1995) SPECT findings on psychosis in Alzheimer's disease. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 1470–1475.Google ScholarPubMed
Lowenthal, M. F. (1965) Antecedents of isolation and mental illness in old age. Archives of General Psychiatry, 12, 245–254.Google ScholarPubMed
Miller, B. L., Lesser, I. M., Boone, K. B., et al (1991) Brain lesions and cognitive function in late life psychosis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 76–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perrli, C. (1979) Reliability and validity studies of the Comprehensive Psycho-pathological Rating Scale (CPRS). Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 3, 413–421.Google Scholar
Prohovnik, I., Dwork, A. J., Kaufman, M. A., et al (1993) Alzheimer-type neuropathology in elderly schizophrenia patients. Schizophrenic Bulletin, 19, 805–816.Google Scholar
Stein, L. M. & Thienhaus, O. J. (1993) Hearing impairment and psychosis. International Psychogeriatrics, 5, 49–56.Google ScholarPubMed
Van Os, J., Howard, R., Takel, N., et al (1995) Increasing age as a risk factor for psychosis in the elderly. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 30, 161–164.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1993) The ICD–10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Diagnostic Criteria for Research. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.