Mental status of residents in old people's homes

As part of an intensive survey of institutionalized elderly in 5 non-government homes for the aged in Singapore, mental health assessment of the residents was carried out systematically. Among 359 respondents, 30.1% often felt sad or cried often. Sleep disturbances affected 47.7% of the total respondents. Females were more prone to both depression and insomnia even after controlling for age difference; about 50% of the females aged 60-74 years and 70% of the females aged 75 years and above had frequently experienced these problems. A review of the literature on mental health and suicidal behaviour among the elderly is also presented.