PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION AND OUTCOME ON THE GERIATRIC REHABILITATION UNIT

Although numerous studies have examined the prevalence of depression a fter stroke and its relationship to functional outcome, minimal resear ch attention has been focused on depression in the acute inpatient reh abilitation setting. Fifty-one consecutive admissions to a geriatric r ehabilitation unit were screened for depression using the Geriatric De pression Scale at both admission and discharge. Depressed v nondepress ed patients were compared on the following variables: age, length of s tay (days), admission Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score, dis charge FIM score, change in FIM score, Mini-Mental State Exam score, a nd discharge to nursing home v home. Depression was prevalent in 29.4% at admission. Depression at admission was not associated with any sig nificant differences in the above variables, but patients classified a s depressed at discharge had lower FIM scores at both admission and di scharge. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.