[Trends in inpatient geriatric psychiatry care in West Germany]

Studies in the U.S.A., Great Britain and Denmark have shown marked reductions in recent decades in the numbers of psychiatric hospital beds occupied by elderly patients. In order to examine the corresponding trends in psychogeriatric in-patient provision in the Federal Republic of Germany, a survey was undertaken of psychiatric admission and bed-occupancy rates for the elderly population in the different regions of the country since 1970. Because of the often incomplete nature of the available data, and the lack of comparability between the documentation and statistical returns in the various regions, no comprehensive or nation-wide overview of the situation is possible. In the few regions for which relatively complete data could be obtained, basically similar trends in psychiatric admission and bed-occupancy rates could be demonstrated. While the annual rates of admission and the numbers of treatment episodes have continued to increase, the psychiatric bed-occupancy rates appear to have undergone a large reduction. The rate per 1000 persons aged over 65 years fell in Hesse from 3.0 to 1.7 (or 43%) in the period 1971-1982; in Schleswig-Holstein from 2.8 to 2.1 (or 25%) between 1971 and 1979, and in North Rhine-Westphalia from 1.8 to 1.4 (or by 22%) in 1974-1982.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)