[Depressive symptoms in older prisoners : Results of two studies]

The proportion of prisoners aged 60 years and above is steadily rising both nationally and internationally. With advancing age the risk of developing physical and mental illnesses also increases. International studies have demonstrated a higher prevalence of mental disorders among older prisoners compared to the general population; however, there are few data on this, at least for Germany.

Collation of empirical data on the presence of depressive symptoms among older prisoners.

There were two independent cross-sectional studies conducted in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and Rhineland-Palatinate (RLP), which included prisoners aged 50 years and above. In NRW a purely quantitative survey of depressive symptoms was carried out using the German version of the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-D) and in RLP the quantitative measurements using the general depression scale short form (ADS-K) were supplemented by qualitative interviews.

In total, data from 315 inmates were available for a joint analysis (222 from RLP, 93 from NRW). Among the prisoners in RLP 63.4% exhibited mild to clinically significant depressive symptoms, while in NRW this was the case for 46.2%. The treatment with antidepressants was carried out only in a small proportion in both federal states.

Both surveys showed a clearly elevated prevalence of depressive symptoms compared to the non-prison population. The results also suggest a need for optimization in terms of treatment. Particularly concerning potential interactions with somatic illnesses, efforts should be made to improve the diagnostics and treatment of depressive symptoms.