Assessment of elderly people in general practice. 1. Social circumstances and mental state

A survey of patients aged 75 years and over registered with general practitioners in north and north west London was carried out by trained interviewers to investigate cognitive impairment. A random sample of 239 patients was selected for the more detailed home assessment. General practitioners had seen nearly two thirds (65.3%) of their patients aged 75 years and over in the three months prior to the study, the majority of these consultations (82.1%) being initiated by the patient and occurring at the surgery. Half of the patients lived alone (50.2%), nearly one in three had no living siblings (31.9%), a similar proportion had no living children (29.5%), and contact with neighbours and relatives was relatively infrequent. One in five elderly patients had evidence of depression (22.0%) although this appeared to be severe in only two cases, and 36 participants (15.1%) had scores on the mini-mental state examination suggesting cognitive impairment. General practitioners underdiagnosed both dementia and depression. The population contained a small group of people who consumed alcohol on a daily basis (10.5%). This study showed that an annual assessment of elderly people as required by the new general practitioners' contract would yield much new evidence of depression and dementia and assist in the identification of heavy drinkers. Up to 30% of patients aged 75 years and over are likely to require further assessment on the basis of screening tests for depression and cognitive impairment, although it remains unclear to what extent identification of these patients will lead to improvements in outcome for them or their carers.