Caracterização dos internamentos em psiquiatria em doentes idosos: um ano de experiência na Unidade Local de Saúde do Nordeste
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Population ageing has led to an increasing need for psychiatric inpatient admissions of older adults, often characterised by high clinical and social complexity. This study aims to characterise admissions occurring between 1 January and 31 December 2025 in patients aged 65 years or older at the Acute Inpatient Unit of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health of the Unidade Local de Saúde do Nordeste. An observational and retrospective study was conducted, with collection and analysis of sociodemographic and clinical data. Sixty-eight patients were included, representing 31.47% of all inpatients, with 51.47% male and 48.53% female, and a mean age of 74.82 years. Approximately 22.06% lived alone and the majority (73.53%) had medical comorbidities, with a mean of 3.05 comorbidities per patient; polypharmacy was observed in 63.24% of cases. The main reasons for admission were behavioural disturbance (45.59%) and psychotic symptoms (17.65%). The most frequent diagnoses at discharge were neurocognitive disorders (47.06%), followed by depressive disorders (20.59%) and psychotic disorders (14.71%). Mean length of stay was 26.44 days and 25.00% of patients experienced complications during admission. Six-month rehospitalisation occurred in 10.29% of cases and mortality in the same period was 10.29%. These findings highlight the high vulnerability of older psychiatric inpatients, reinforcing the need for multidisciplinary approaches to promote continuity of care and improve mental health outcomes in this population.
DOI: 10.61415/riage.526
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223253629