PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION AND DEMENTIA AMO NG RESIDENTS IN OLD-AGE HOMES IN MANNHEIM AND CAMDEN (LONDON)

Numerous epidemiological studies corroborate that residents of nursing homes constitute a particular risk group for mental disorders. There is, however, an enormous deficit of internationally comparable represe ntative studies in which the prevalence of mental disorders among resi dents in old-age homes is determined using identical instruments. A Ge rman-English cooperative project studied residents over the age of 65 years in 12 residential homes in Mannheim (1988) and 12 in the London borough of Camden (1982 and 1986) using the Brief Assessment Interview (BAI). This instrument permits reliable assessment of depression and dementia, the most frequent psychiatric disorders in old age. While ap proximately one-third of the home residents in Mannheim (34.6%) and in Camden (1982, 38.1%; 1986, 33.5%) suffered from depression, the preva lence of dementia was significantly higher in Camden (1982, 65.7%; 198 6, 77.5%) than in Mannheim (37.8%). Prevalence rates were determined f or various sociodemographic subgroups (sex, age, level of education, m arital status) and in terms of the limitations on activities of daily living, length of stay, and frequency of visits by relatives and frien ds. In both catchment areas the prevalence rates of both dementia and depression were particularly high among residents who were impaired in their activities of daily living. Neither in Camden nor in Mannheim w as the rate of depression among demented home residents significantly increased.