RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyse the trend in the percentages of elderly patients admitted to hospital for psychiatric reasons. An additional aim was to analyse the characteristics of the elderly population admitted to a psychiatric hospitalisation unit. MATERIAL AN METHODS: An analysis was made of the trends in the percentages of discharges in elderly population at the national level and in the Mental Health Hospitalisation Unit (MHHU) of the Regional University Hospital of Malaga for a period of at least 18years using segmented regression. For the study of the characteristics of the elderly population, all patients (N=5,925) and consecutive episodes of admission (N=15,418) were compared between 1999 and 2017 in the MHHU. RESULTS: At the national level, there was an increase in hospital discharges in elderly patients with a significant mean annual percent change of 2.0%. In the study unit, the elderly population were more frequently female, involuntarily admitted, and had a longer hospital stay. They had been diagnosed more frequently with organic and depressive mental disorders, and less frequently with schizophrenia, substance use, and personality disorders. CONCLUSIONS: There was a growing trend in the percentage of elderly psychiatric patients admitted to hospitals during the study period. These results point to the increase in elderly psychiatric admissions and thus the need to adapt psychiatric units to the characteristics of this population.