Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T19:34:12.518Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Is There More Dementia, Depression and Neurosis in New York?

A Comparative Study of the Elderly in New York and London Using the Computer Diagnosis AGECAT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

J. R. M. Copeland*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool Institute of Human Ageing
B. J. Gurland
Affiliation:
Columbia University and New York State Office of Mental Health
M. E. Dewey
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool
M. J. Kelleher
Affiliation:
St Anne's Clinic, Cork
A. M. R. Smith
Affiliation:
Beecham Pharmaceuticals
I. A. Davidson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool
*
University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Liverpool Hospital, PO Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX

Extract

A computerised diagnosis, AGECAT, is applied to data from random community samples of the elderly in New York and London in order to examine the prevalence of mental illness in the two cities, especially the result reported from the same study, using a different diagnostic procedure, that the proportion of dementia was higher in New York. The greater proportion of dementia in New York is confirmed for all AGECAT's levels of diagnostic confidence, for both sexes and at all half-decades over 65 years. Provided that this difference is upheld and genetic differences can be discounted, these findings would seem to support a contributory environmental cause for dementia. Proportions of depression as a whole are similar in both cities. Syndrome case and sub-case levels of neurotic disorder are generally higher in London.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1987 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edn (DSM-III). Washington D. C.: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W. & Harris, T. O. (1978) Social Origins of Depression. London: Tavistock Publications.Google Scholar
Copeland, J. R. M. (1981a) What is a case, a case for what? In What is a Case, the Problems of Definition in Psychiatric Community Surveys (eds) J. K. Wing, P. Bebbington & L. N. Robbins). London: Grant McIntyre.Google Scholar
Copeland, J. R. M. (1981b) Mental illness among the elderly in London: In Epidemiology and Prevention of Mental Illness in Old Age (eds) G. Magnussen, J. Nielson & J. Buch). Nordisk Samrad for Eldreaktivitet, Denmark.Google Scholar
Copeland, J. R. M. Kelleher, M. J., Gourlay, A. J. & Smith, A. M. R. (1975) The influence of psychiatric training, medical qualification and paramedical training on the rating of abnormal behaviour. Psychological Medicine, 5, 8995.Google Scholar
Copeland, J. R. M. Kelleher, M. J., Gourlay, A. J. & Smith, A. M. R., Kellett, J. M., Gourlay, A. J., Gurland, B. J., Fleiss, J. L. & Sharpe, L. (1976) A semi-structured clinical interview for the assessment of diagnosis and mental state in the elderly: the Geriatric Mental State Schedule. I. Development and Reliability. Psychological Medicine, 6, 439449.Google Scholar
Copeland, J. R. M. Kelleher, M. J., Gourlay, A. J. & Smith, A. M. R., Kellett, J. M., Gourlay, A. J., Gurland, B. J., Fleiss, J. L. & Sharpe, L. & Gurland, B. J. (1985) International comparative studies. In Recent Advances in Psychogeriatrics (ed. T. Arie). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Copeland, J. R. M. Kelleher, M. J., Gourlay, A. J. & Smith, A. M. R., Kellett, J. M., Gourlay, A. J., Gurland, B. J., Fleiss, J. L. & Sharpe, L. & Gurland, B. J. Dewey, M. E., Griffiths-Jones, H. M. (1986) Computerised psychiatric diagnostic system and case nomenclature for elderly subjects: GMS and AGECAT. Psychological Medicine, 16, 8999.Google Scholar
Copeland, J. R. M. Kelleher, M. J., Gourlay, A. J. & Smith, A. M. R., Kellett, J. M., Gourlay, A. J., Gurland, B. J., Fleiss, J. L. & Sharpe, L. & Gurland, B. J., Henderson, A. S., Kay, D. W. K., Neal, C. D., Harrison, M. A. M., McWilliam, C., Forshaw, D. & Shiwach, R. (1987) The Geriatric Mental State used in the community: replication studies of the computerised diagnosis AGECAT. Psychological Medicine (in press).Google Scholar
Dewey, M. E. & Copeland, J. R. M. (1986) Computerised psychiatric diagnosis in the elderly: AGECAT. Journal of Microcomputer Applications, 9, 135140.Google Scholar
Gurland, B. J., Fleiss, J. L., Goldberc, K., Sharpe, L., Copeland, J. R. M., Kelleher, M. J. & Kellett, J. M. (1976) A semi-structured clinical interview for the assessment of diagnosis and mental state in the elderly: the Geriatric Mental State Schedule. 2. A factor analysis. Psychological Medicine, 6, 451459.Google Scholar
Gurland, B. J., Fleiss, J. L., Goldberc, K., Sharpe, L., Copeland, J. R. M., Kelleher, M. J. & Kellett, J. M. Cross, P., Defiguerido, J., Shannon, M., Mann, A. M., Jenkin, R., Bennett, R., Wilder, D., Wright, H., Killeffer, E. & Godlove, C. (1979) A cross-national comparison of the institutionalised elderly in the cities of New York and London. Psychological Medicine, 9, 781788.Google Scholar
Gurland, B. J., Fleiss, J. L., Goldberc, K., Sharpe, L., Copeland, J. R. M., Kelleher, M. J. & Kellett, J. M. Copeland, J. R. M., Kelleher, M. J., Kuriansky, J., Sharpe, L. & Dean, L. (1983) The Mind and Mood of Ageing: the Mental Health Problems of the Community Elderly in New York and London. New York, Haworth Press; London, Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Her Majesty'S Stationery Office (1976) Annual Abstract of Greater London Statistics, Vol. II. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
New York Economic Development Board (1976) Preliminary Revised Population Projections by Age and Sex for New York. Albany: NYSEDB.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.