Psychosis: How the patient profile changes with age
Australian psychiatrists find older patients are more likely to have affective psychosis and unmet physical health needs
The first nationwide study to compare psychosis in over-50s with young people who have the diagnosis shows their challenges in daily living differ.
Older patients are more likely to live alone, be unemployed and have higher rates of obesity and diabetes, the researchers say.
The distinct needs of this age group could warrant the use of “late psychosis teams” similar to the early psychosis care teams, according to Professor Cherrie Galletly and her coauthors.
The investigators used data from the 2010 Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP) which was a large representative study across five states, covering some 10% of the Australian population.
