Recorded presentation

A. V Rayner, MD¹, Craig H Ziegler¹, and James D Cassady, MD². (1) School of Public Health, University of Louisville, 555 S. Floyd St, Louisville, KY 40202, 502 852-3003, arayner@jhsph.edu, (2) Dept of Family Practice, Riverside Methodist Hospital/Ohio State, 2939 Kenny Rd, Columbus, OH 43202

Depression has been linked to reduced quality of life and increased mortality. Recognition of depression in the institutionalized elderly with multiple comorbidity, functional impairment, and a high prevalence of dementia is a difficult clinical challenge. Methods: The national minimum data set (MDS) from one quarter of 2002 was analyzed using SAS statistical software. Only complete MDS (new admissions, annual assessments, and major change in status) were included to minimize duplicate patient records. Depression was defined by 1) diagnosis of depression listed as an active disease diagnosis, 2) treatment with antidepressants (those included received antidepressants any one of the prior seven days) and 3) symptoms of depression as measured by the MDS- derived depression rating scale (MDS-DRS; Burrows et al. 2000) Results: The data set includes information on about 875,980 patients . One third of all patients (292,715) had depression identified as an active medical condition. 37.1% of the patients received treatment with antidepressants. Of those with an active diagnosis of depression, 79.2% were on antidepressants and 2.3% received psychotherapy, (79.6% received some form of active treatment). Of those receiving antidepressants, the prevalence of symptoms of depression was 21.4%. Symptoms of depression were present in 15.1% of the population. Only 49.2% of this group had an active diagnosis of depression and only 52.4% received antidepressants. Conclusions: Depression is a common illness in the institutionalized elderly. MDS derived models may be useful to screen for depression. More research is needed to identify those individuals likely to benefit from treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• quantitate spectrum of depressive syndromes in long term care.

Keywords: Depression, Long-Term Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation