Disadvantaging older patients when they are admitted to a psychiatric clinic

Background: We investigated whether older patients are disadvantaged compar ed to younger patients on admission to a psychiatric clinic. Method: Using odds ratio and Mantel-Haenszel statistics, the null hypothesis is tested of whether patients over sixty-five years old who do not live in the sector o f the catchment area of a psychiatric clinic have the same changes of admis sion as patients over sixty-five who live in this sector. Results: Older se ctor patients and younger non-sector patients are preferentially admitted c ompared to older non-sector patients. The odds ratio of the particular grou ps deviated highly significantly from 3.83, thus refuting the null hypothes is. Conclusion: Younger patients are preferentially admitted by the clinica l psychiatrist.