Association of antidepressant treatment with emergency admission to medical units for patients 65 years or older.
BACKGROUND
There is increasing evidence relating the presence of depression in seniors and the risk of hospital admission in medical departments from the Emergency Services.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the impact of antidepressant treatment (ATD) as a protective factor for emergency hospitalization in older people.


METHODS
All patients aged 65 and over who required urgent attention for medical reasons at the Emergency Department of the Corporació Sanitària i Universitària Parc Taulí (Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain) for the period between January and October 2012 were included in the study. Sociodemographic variables, alcohol and tobacco use, medical history and psychopharmacological treatment were obtained. The necessary sample size was calculated and a simple randomization was performed. Subsequently, a descriptive statistical analysis and parametric tests were conducted.


RESULTS
A total of 674 patients (53% women) were evaluated, with a mean age of 78.45 years, and 27.6% of the cases (71% women) were receiving ATD. Among the 333 admitted patients (50%), 83 individuals (24.6%) had previously received ATD; this contrasts with the 103 cases (30.6%) of prior ATD treatment among the patients who were not admitted. After comparative analysis, the relationship between previous use of ATD and being admitted to hospital was not statistically significant in our global sample. This relationship was only statistically significant among the group aged 75 and over (neg. sig. 0.012).


CONCLUSIONS
In our study, ATD was associated with a decreased risk of hospital admission for urgent medical conditions in people aged 75 and over. Treating depression may protect the elderly against admission to the Emergency department and may potentially be a quality criterion in preventing complications in this population.
Servei de Salut Mental, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
Noèlia
N
Ortuño
Servei de Salut Mental, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España; Departament de Psiquiatría i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, España. Electronic address: jcobo@tauli.cat.
Jesús
J
Cobo
Servei d'Urgències, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
Espe
E
González
Servei d'Urgències, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
Imma
I
García
Servei d'Urgències, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
María-Dolores
MD
Ferrer
Servei d'Urgències, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
Carmen
C
Campos
Servei de Salut Mental, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
Núria
N
Planet
Unitat d'Estadística, Fundació Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
Joan-Carles
JC
Oliva
Hospital Monte Naranco, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias , Oviedo, Asturias, España.
Mónica
M
Suárez
Servei d'Urgències, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España.
María-Luisa
ML
Iglesias-Lepine
Servei de Salut Mental, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, España; Departament de Psiquiatría i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, España.
Gemma
G
García-Parés
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004630:Emergencies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D065840:Protective Factors; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain
D000928:Antidepressive Agents
Ansiolíticos; Antidepresivos; Antidepressants; Anxiolytics; Emergency; Geriatrics; Geriatría; Hospitalización.; Hospitalization; Urgencias