Psychiatric disorders in elderly Nigerians

Fifty-one patients aged 60 years or over (5% of new cases), presenting at a Nigerian psychiatric unit over a 4-year period, were studied prospectively. There was a large excess of females. The majority of patients suffered from functional psychoses, of which late paraphrenia was the commonest. Most of the late paraphrenics were schizophrenic. The findings are compared with previous studies from industrialised countries. Aetiological factors, management and outcome are considered.