PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Regenstrief and IU study: Older adults with severe mental illness challenge healthcare system

2013-11-14
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Cindy Fox Aisen
caisen@iupui.edu
317-843-2276
Indiana University
Regenstrief and IU study: Older adults with severe mental illness challenge healthcare system

INDIANAPOLIS – Although older adults with serious mental illness didn't have more recorded physical illness and had fewer outpatient visits to primary care physicians, they made more medical emergency department visits and had considerably longer medical hospitalizations than older adults without mental illness according to a study conducted by researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research.

"Our comparison of health care utilization between seriously mentally ill patients and age-matched primary-care patients provides critical data for the physicians, health care systems and policy makers who will be caring for the growing number of older adults, many of whom have mental illness," said Regenstrief Institute investigator Hugh C. Hendrie, M.B., Ch.B., D.Sc., Indiana University Center for Aging Research center scientist and professor of psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine. Dr. Hendrie, who is a geriatric psychiatrist and health services researcher, is the first author of the study.

The study, "Comorbidity Profile and Healthcare Utilization in Elderly Patients With Serious Mental Illnesses," is published in the December issue of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

A 2012 report from the Institute of Medicine estimated that as many of one in five older adults have one or more mental health conditions or problems stemming from substance misuse or abuse. The IOM report authors included Regenstrief Institute investigator Christopher Callahan, M.D., Cornelius and Yvonne Pettinga Professor of Medicine at the IU School of Medicine who is also a co-author of the new study. Dr. Callahan is founding director of the IU Center for Aging Research.

The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry study notes, "The increased likelihood of falls together with the significantly greater number of emergency department visits and length of hospitalization also suggest that those with severe mental illness represent a vulnerable elderly population that deserve more intensive studies, leading hopefully to a better integrated model of medical and psychiatric care including consideration of psychosocial factors."

Individuals with severe mental illness in the study were patients of Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health. The patients had severe chronic depression (48 percent), schizophrenia (39 percent) and bipolar disorder (14 percent). Others in the study were patients from Wishard-Eskenazi primary care sites.

"This study highlights a major challenge faced by older adults with severe mental illnesses and the increased burden it places on our health care system," said Julie L. Szempruch, RN, CNS, associate vice president of Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health.



INFORMATION:

Authors of "Comorbidity Profile and Healthcare Utilization in Elderly Patients With Serious Mental Illnesses," in addition to Drs. Hendrie and Callahan, are Donald Lindgren, LCSW, Donald P. Hay, M.D., Kathleen A. Lane, M.S., Sujuan Gao, Ph.D., Christianna Purnell, B.A., Stephanie Munger, M.P.H., Faye Smith, M.A., Jeanne Dickens, M.D., and Malaz A. Boustani, M.D., M.P.H.

The study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant MH080827-01A1.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

NASA experts showcase science, technology at supercomputing conference

2013-11-14
NASA experts showcase science, technology at supercomputing conference Some of NASA's best and brightest will showcase more than 30 of the agency's exciting computational achievements at SC13, the international supercomputing conference, Nov. 17-22, 2013 in Denver. Highlights ...

Clinical ovarian cancers display extensive genetic heterogeneity, study suggests multiple treatment

2013-11-14
Clinical ovarian cancers display extensive genetic heterogeneity, study suggests multiple treatment Sequencing study underscores difficulty of treating ovarian cancer, points to diverse patterns of ovarian cancer evolution CARLSBAD, Calif. and UTRECHT, The Netherlands ...

Haiyan and Tropical Storm 30W bring heavy rains to the Phillipines

2013-11-14
Haiyan and Tropical Storm 30W bring heavy rains to the Phillipines Haiyan, known locally in the Philippines as Yulonda, will go down as a historic storm, making landfall in the central Philippines as perhaps the most powerful tropical cyclone to ever make landfall ...

Latest storm updates NASA satellites see Cyclone 03A make landfall in Somalia Tropical Cyclone 03A

2013-11-14
Latest storm updates NASA satellites see Cyclone 03A make landfall in Somalia Tropical Cyclone 03A In addition to the fierce winds and powerful surge, Haiyan brought copious amounts of rainfall to the central Philippines along with Tropical Storm 30W and another tropical ...

Penguin-inspired propulsion system

2013-11-14
Penguin-inspired propulsion system 'Underwater rocket' technology described at APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting uses novel spherical joint mechanism WASHINGTON D.C. Nov. 14, 2013 -- Back in 1991, Nature published a picture from the IMAX movie Antarctica, ...

High blood pressure in middle age versus old age may better predict memory loss

2013-11-14
High blood pressure in middle age versus old age may better predict memory loss MINNEAPOLIS – People in middle age who have a high blood pressure measure called pulse pressure are more likely to have biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in their spinal fluid ...

Cardiovascular complications of type 2 diabetes associated with levels of physical activity

2013-11-14
Cardiovascular complications of type 2 diabetes associated with levels of physical activity Sophia Antipolis, 14 November 2013. The risk of cardiovascular complications in people with type 2 diabetes is directly related to the frequency and duration ...

Buried leaves reveal precolonial eastern forests and guide stream restoration

2013-11-14
Buried leaves reveal precolonial eastern forests and guide stream restoration Sediment behind milldams in Pennsylvania preserved leaves deposited just before European contact that provide a glimpse of the ancient forests, according to a team of geoscientists, who note that ...

NIH study finds low-intensity therapy for Burkitt lymphoma is highly effective

2013-11-14
NIH study finds low-intensity therapy for Burkitt lymphoma is highly effective Adult patients with a type of cancer known as Burkitt lymphoma had excellent long-term survival rates—upwards of 90 percent—following treatment with low-intensity ...

Queen bee's honesty is the best policy for reproduction signals

2013-11-14
Queen bee's honesty is the best policy for reproduction signals Queen bees convey honest signals to worker bees about their reproductive status and quality, according to an international team of researchers, who say their findings may help to explain why honey bee populations ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

ESMO 2025: VT3989 continues to show promising early results in patients with advanced mesothelioma

Study finds COVID-19 mRNA vaccine sparks immune response to fight cancer

ESMO 2025: mRNA-based COVID vaccines generate improved responses to immunotherapy

Drug combo cuts risk of death in advanced prostate cancer by 40%

ADC improves outcomes for patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer who are ineligible for immune checkpoint inhibitors

Novel treatment combination improves progression-free survival in metastatic, estrogen-receptor-positive HER-2-negative breast cancer

ESMO 2025: Trial results show belzutifan shrinks rare neuroendocrine tumors and improves symptoms in patients

ESMO 2025: Dual targeted therapy shows promise in previously treated advanced kidney cancer patients

New generation of Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) shows unprecedented promise in early-stage disease

Sylvester Cancer Tip Sheet for October 2025

Three science and technology leaders elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Jump Trading CSO Kevin Bowers elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Former Inscripta CEO Sri Kosaraju elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Citadel’s Jordan Chetty elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

McGill research flags Montreal snow dump, inactive landfills as major methane polluters

A lightweight and rapid bidirectional search algorithm

Eighty-five years of big tree history available in one place for the first time

MIT invents human brain model with six major cell types to enable personalized disease research, drug discovery

Health and economic air quality co-benefits of stringent climate policies

How immune cells deliver their deadly cargo

How the brain becomes a better listener: How focus enhances sound processing

Processed fats found in margarines unlikely to affect heart health

Scientists discover how leukemia cells evade treatment

Sandra Shi MD, MPH, named 2025 STAT Wunderkind

Treating liver disease with microscopic nanoparticles

Chemicals might be hitching a ride on nanoplastics to enter your skin

Pregnant patients with preexisting high cholesterol may have elevated CV risk

UC stroke experts discuss current and future use of AI tools in research and treatment

The Southern Ocean’s low-salinity water locked away CO2 for decades, but...

OHSU researchers develop functional eggs from human skin cells

[Press-News.org] Regenstrief and IU study: Older adults with severe mental illness challenge healthcare system