Biomaterial Database

A fifteen-year psychogeriatric patient follow-up study. 1984

H Grauer, and D Mueller, and R Zelnicker

Two hundred and ninety-one patients, with an average age of 69 in 1965, referred to a psychogeriatric clinic were studied. All but 20 were traced. 167 died and 104 remained alive. 73 were institutionalized. Medical, psychiatric and social data was available for all. Using mortality tables, we calculated the time of death for each patient. The group that exceeded their life expectancy was compared to the group that died prematurely. Significant positive correlations with longevity were self-referral, higher education, skilled work, independent income and absence of dementia. Females and orphans also lived longer. Living alone, dependency on children and conflict with one's spouse predisposed to institutionalization. Curiously, the hardships of being in wartime Europe and/or in a concentration camp increased life expectancy and mitigated against institutionalization. An attempt is made to correlate our findings with other studies and to explain our results.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007326	Institutionalization	The caring for individuals in institutions and their adaptation to routines characteristic of the institutional environment, and/or their loss of adaptation to life outside the institution.	Institutionalized Persons,Institutionalizations,Institutionalized Person,Person, Institutionalized,Persons, Institutionalized
D008136	Longevity	The normal length of time of an organism's life.	Length of Life,Life Span,Lifespan,Life Spans,Lifespans
D008297	Male		Males
D010044	Outpatient Clinics, Hospital	Organized services in a hospital which provide medical care on an outpatient basis.	Ambulatory Care Facilities, Hospital,Hospital Outpatient Clinics,Clinic, Hospital Outpatient,Clinics, Hospital Outpatient,Hospital Outpatient Clinic,Outpatient Clinic, Hospital
D011379	Prognosis	A prediction of the probable outcome of a disease based on a individual's condition and the usual course of the disease as seen in similar situations.	Prognostic Factor,Prognostic Factors,Factor, Prognostic,Factors, Prognostic,Prognoses
D011792	Quebec	A province of eastern Canada. Its capital is Quebec. The region belonged to France from 1627 to 1763 when it was lost to the British. The name is from the Algonquian quilibek meaning the place where waters narrow, referring to the gradually narrowing channel of the St. Lawrence or to the narrows of the river at Cape Diamond. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p993 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p440)
D005260	Female		Females
D005500	Follow-Up Studies	Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.	Followup Studies,Follow Up Studies,Follow-Up Study,Followup Study,Studies, Follow-Up,Studies, Followup,Study, Follow-Up,Study, Followup
D006769	Hospitals, General	Large hospitals with a resident medical staff which provides continuous care to maternity, surgical and medical patients.	General Hospital,General Hospitals,Hospital, General
D006788	Hospitals, Voluntary	Private, not-for-profit hospitals that are autonomous, self-established, and self-supported.	Hospitals, Private, Not-for-Profit,Hospitals Privates, Not-for-Profit,Not-for-Profit Hospitals Private,Not-for-Profit Hospitals Privates,Private, Not-for-Profit Hospitals,Voluntary Hospitals,Hospital, Voluntary,Hospitals Private, Not-for-Profit,Hospitals Privates, Not for Profit,Not for Profit Hospitals Private,Not for Profit Hospitals Privates,Private, Not for Profit Hospitals,Privates, Not-for-Profit Hospitals,Voluntary Hospital