[Prevalence and factors associated to mental disorders in primary care attenders aged 75 and older]

Mental disorders in old age are a major public health problem. However, few epidemiological studies provide data on prevalence and risk factors of mental illness in older old population. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of common mental disorders and their associated factors in primary care patients over 75 years.

Cross-sectional epidemiologic study carried out in a sample of 426 older old patients who were attended at Primary Health Care settings, proportionally distributed for provinces and health centers. The Spanish version of the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) was used in order to diagnose the most common psychiatric disorders in this field.

Prevalence and comorbidity rates of affective, anxiety and somatoform disorders are high. 47.4% of the sample presented one or more psychiatric disorder. The most prevalent were affective (33.8%), somatoform (24.4%) and anxiety (14.3%) disorders. 6.3% had comorbidity between affective, anxiety and somatoform disorders. Perceived health status and physical illnesses were significantly associated with these mental disorders.

Affective, anxiety and somatoform disorders are highly prevalent in older old population with high rates of comorbidity. Their detection and treatment should be considered a relevant issue in primary care.