Affective symptoms of institutionalized adults with mental retardation

A survey of affective symptoms in two groups of institutionalized adults with mental retardation was conducted. The groups were comprised of subjects with prior diagnoses of affective disorders or other psychiatric disorders. Informants reported retrospectively on the presence or absence of DSM-III-R criteria for major depression and mania. Thirteen percent of the affective disorders group did not meet these criteria for depression or mania, whereas 20% of the other psychiatric disorders group did. Aggression was a frequent concomitant of psychopathology in both groups. These findings support previous reports that affective disorders may be underdiagnosed in this population. However, unlike prior investigations, most of the subjects (74%) in the present survey had severe to profound mental retardation.