Abstract
Background: The present study explored the patterns of physical comorbidities and their associated demographic and clinical factors in older psychiatric patients prescribed with antidepressants in Asia. Methods: Demographic and clinical information of 955 older adults were extracted from the database of the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antidepressants (REAP-AD) project. Standardized data collection procedure was used to record demographic and clinical data. Results: Proportion of physical comorbidities in this cohort was 44%. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that older age (OR = 1.7, P < 0.001), higher number of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.09, P = 0.016), being treated in psychiatric hospital (OR = 0.5, P = 0.002), living in high income countries/territories (OR = 2.4, P = 0.002), use of benzodiazepines (OR = 1.4, P = 0.013) and diagnosis of ‘other psychiatric disorders’ (except mood, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia) (OR = 2.7, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with physical comorbidities. Conclusions: Physical comorbidities in older patients prescribed with antidepressants were common in Asia. Integrating physical care into the treatment of older psychiatric patients should be urgently considered.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 351-356 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Psychogeriatrics |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2018 |
Keywords
- antidepressant
- Asia
- older adults
- physical comorbidity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gerontology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Psychiatry and Mental health