Geriatric patients attending a general hospital psychiatry clinic

238 case records of all the patients aged sixty years and above who visited psychiatry departments of two general hospitals during a three year period were retrospectively analyzed. The mean age of sample was 67 years; 43.7% of patients had functional psychosis. 55.8% of the functional cases had paranoid features. 43.28% of the sample had at least one associated physical illness, the majority of the patients had a caring spouse, were from joint or extended families and had some education and at least part time occupation.