SCHIZOPHRENIA IN LATE-LIFE - ELDERLY PATIENTS ADMITTED TO AN ACUTE-CARE PSYCHIATRIC-HOSPITAL

Although a considerable body of biological and clinical data has been accumulated on the mood disorders and organic disorders of late life, only a handful of studies have focused on aging schizophrenia patients . Using the results of a comprehensive evaluation of all elderly patie nts admitted over a 30-month period to a 26-bed acute care geriatric u nit, we compared the demographic, social, and clinical characteristics of schizophrenia patients, patients with recurrent major depression w ith and without psychotic features, and patients with primary degenera tive dementia of the Alzheimer's type with and without delusions. The main findings of this study are that elderly schizophrenia patients we re younger, more often African-American, more often single, and poorer than the other groups. A concomitant history of substance abuse and i nstitutionalization as an outcome were more frequent among schizophren ia patients. Like the older depressed and demented patients, schizophr enia patients were predominantly female and commonly presented with se veral medical disorders. The potential significance of these findings is discussed in the context of the literature on the long-term outcome of schizophrenia.