The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was studied in 78 elderly people in
a rehabilitation unit for older adults. The patients were assessed using t
he Evans Liverpool depression rating scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression
scale and Mini-Mental State Examination. Twenty-eight (35.9%) patients wer
e found to be depressed, 15 of these also had raised anxiety. Thirty-one (4
1.0%) patients had significant cognitive impairment and 14 of these had ass
ociated depression. Only 33 (42%) had no evidence of either cognitive impai
rment or mood disorder. On discharge, 20 (25.6%) patients were on anti-depr
essant treatment but only 50% of those had this diagnosis recorded on the d
ischarge summary. Our results showed higher prevalence of depression in thi
s situation compared with the reported prevalence of 20-30% in the acute ho
spital setting. We recommend that all patients undergoing rehabilitation sh
ould be routinely screened for depression as it is common and treatment wil
l improve the overall outcome.