Abstract:

Objective To investigate the differences of clinical characteristics between elderly patients with unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar depression (BD).MethodsThe demographic characteristics and clinical data of 21 inpatients with BD and 30 inpatients with UD of the geriatrics department of Shanghai Mental Health Center from January 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015 were retrospectively analyzed to compare the differences between BD group and UD group.ResultsThe mean onset age of the BD group was younger than that of the UD group (P<0.05), while the mean duration of total course of disease was longer than that of the UD group and the mean number of onset was larger than that of the UD group (P<0.01). The differences were statistically significant. The percentage of patients with psychotic symptoms of the BD group was higher than that of the UD group (P<0.05) and the differences were statistically significant. The mean time between onset and definite diagnosis of the BD group was longer than that of the UD group (P<0.01) and the differences were statistically significant. In the BD group, patients with bipolar Ⅱ disorder accounted for 66.7% and the misdiagnose rate of them was 78.5%. The mean score of Social Support Rating Scale of the BD group was lower than that of the UD group (P<0.05) and the difference was statistically significant. The differences of comorbid somatic diseases, risk factors of cerebrovascular diseases, family history, and clinical manifestations with depressive characteristics and atypical characteristics of two groups were not statistically significant.ConclusionClinical characteristics between elderly patients with unipolar depression and bipolar depression are different, which may be risk factors of elderly patients with bipolar depression. The social support system of elderly patients with bipolar depression is poor and needs more attention.

Key words: elderly, bipolar depression, unipolar depression, clinical characteristics