Race, education, and the treatment of depression in nursing homes.

OBJECTIVES: We investigate, among older adult nursing home residents diagnosed with depression, whether depression treatment differs by race and schooling, and whether differences by schooling differ by race. We examine whether Blacks and less educated residents are placed in facilities providing less treatment, and whether differences reflect disparities in care. METHOD: Data from the 2006 Nursing Home Minimum Data Set for 8 states (n = 124,431), are merged with facility information from the Online Survey Certification and Reporting system. Logistic regressions examine whether resident and/or facility characteristics explain treatment differences; treatment includes antidepressants and/or psychotherapy. RESULTS: Blacks receive less treatment (adj. OR = .79); differences by education are small. Facilities with more Medicaid enrollees, fewer high school graduates, or more Blacks provide less treatment. DISCUSSION: We found disparities at the resident and facility level. Facilities serving a low-SES (socioeconomic status), minority clientele tend to provide less depression care, but Blacks also receive less depression treatment than Whites within nursing homes (NHs).

Diagnosis and treatment of depression in older community-dwelling adults: 1992-2005.

OBJECTIVE: To examine evolving patterns of depression diagnosis and treatment in older U.S. adults in the era of newer-generation antidepressants. DESIGN: Trend analysis using data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, a nationally representative survey of Medicare enrollees, from 1992 to 2005. SETTING: Community, usual care. PARTICIPANTS: Older Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. MEASUREMENTS: Depression diagnoses and psychotherapy use identified from Medicare claims; antidepressant use identified from detailed medication inventories conducted by interviewers. RESULTS: The proportion of older adults who received a depression diagnosis doubled, from 3.2% to 6.3%, with rates increasing substantially across all demographic subgroups. Of those diagnosed, the proportion receiving antidepressants increased from 53.7% to 67.1%, whereas the proportion receiving psychotherapy declined from 26.1% to 14.8%. Adjusting for other characteristics, odds of antidepressant treatment in older adults diagnosed with depression were 86% greater for women, 53% greater for men, 89% greater for whites, 13% greater for African Americans, 84% greater for metropolitan-area residents, and 55% greater for nonmetropolitan-area residents. Odds of antidepressant treatment were 54% greater for those diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 83% greater for those with other depression diagnoses, whereas the odds of receiving psychotherapy was 29% lower in those with MDD diagnoses and 74% lower in those with other depression diagnoses. CONCLUSION: Overall diagnosis and treatment rates increased over time. Antidepressants are assuming a more-prominent and psychotherapy a less-prominent role. These shifts are most pronounced in groups with less-severe depression, in whom evidence of efficacy of treatment with antidepressants alone is less clear.

Psychiatric rehospitalization among elderly persons in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined predictors of psychiatric rehospitalization among elderly persons. METHODS: Readmission within six months of an index hospitalization was modeled by using Medicare data on all hospitalizations with a primary psychiatric diagnosis in the first half of 2002 (N=41,839). Data were linked with state and community-level information from the U.S. census. RESULTS: Twenty-two percent of beneficiaries were rehospitalized for psychiatric reasons within six months of discharge. After the analyses adjusted for sociodemographic factors, readmission was most likely among persons with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia (hazard ratio [HR]=2.63), followed by bipolar disorder (HR=2.51), depression (HR=1.75), and substance abuse (HR=1.38) (reference group was "other" psychiatric conditions). A baseline hospital stay of five or more days for an affective disorder was associated with a reduced readmission hazard (HR=.68, relative to shorter stays), yet the opposite was true for a nonaffective disorder (HR=1.26). For persons with nonaffective disorders, an elevated hazard of readmission was associated with comorbid alcohol dependence (HR=1.32), panic disorder (HR=1.76), borderline personality disorder (HR=2.33), and drug dependence (HR=1.17). However, for persons with affective disorders, having a personality disorder other than borderline personality disorder or dependent personality disorder (HR=1.27) and having an "other" anxiety disorder (HR=1.15) were significantly associated with an increased risk of rehospitalization. Obsessive-compulsive disorder increased the readmission hazard in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Readmission risk factors may differ for affective disorders and nonaffective disorders. Very short hospitalizations were associated with increased risk of rehospitalization among persons with an affective disorder, which underscores the need for adequate stabilization of this group of patients during hospitalization. Results also highlight the specific types of comorbidities associated most strongly with rehospitalization risk.

Hospitalization for psychiatric illness among community-dwelling elderly persons in 1992 and 2002.

OBJECTIVE: The authors evaluated the evolution of inpatient care for psychiatric illness in 1992 and 2002 for senior community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries. METHODS: National Medicare Provider Analysis and Review files for 1992 and 2002 were analyzed. RESULTS: From 1992 to 2002, rates of inpatient hospital use for treatment of psychiatric illness declined 28%, from 429 to 311 stays per 100,000 eligible beneficiaries, mostly because of reduced hospitalization for depression, and next, for substance use disorder. Inpatient care patterns for patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder changed little. Although stays were shorter in 2002 in general, rehospitalization rates remained the same in 2002 as they were in 1992. CONCLUSION: Trends in hospitalizations differed by diagnoses, which may be representative of general changes in treatment philosophy during the 1990s.

Medicare inpatient treatment for elderly non-dementia psychiatric illnesses 1992--2002; length of stay and expenditures by facility type.

We summarize Medicare utilization and payment for inpatient treatment of non-dementia psychiatric illnesses (NDPI) among the elderly during 1992 and 2002. From 1992 to 2002, overall mean Medicare expenditures per elderly NDPI inpatient stay declined by $2,254 (in 2002 dollars) and covered days by 2.8. However, these changes are complicated by expanded use of skilled nursing facilities and hospital psychiatric units, and decreased use of long-stay hospitals and general hospital beds. This suggests that inpatient treatment for NDPI is shifting into less expensive settings which may reflect cost-cutting strategies, preferences for less restrictive settings, and outpatient treatment advances.