Psychogeriatric patients in a general hospital: role of geropsychiatric consultation.

A total of 505 elderly patients aged 65 and over, seen at the Department of Psychiatry of Tosei General Hospital, were investigated retrospectively and classified according to the DSM-III-R criteria. The increase in the number of psychogeriatric patients over the last two decades was statistically significant. Organic mental disorders were most frequent (51%), followed by mood disorders (22%), sleep disorders (7%), somatoform disorders (6%), anxiety disorders (5%) and others. A high referral rate (42%) and a high incidence of various concurrent physical disorders (52%) were observed, and the role of geropsychiatric consultation in a general hospital was evaluated and discussed.