Background: Anxiety and depression lead to extensive utilization of the health service. Frequency and extent of symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed in the elderly general population.
Participants and method: In a random community sample of 622 elderly persons aged above 60 years (mean age 69.55 years; 56.1% women), the frequency of anxiety and depression was assessed by means of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
Results: Probable anxiety was found in 7.6% of the elderly, probable depression in 27.5%. Negative affectivity (based on the total scale) was found in 31.7% of the elderly. Self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms correlated to a considerable extent (r = 0.69). There were higher rates of probable anxiety and depression in women than in men. However, a significant effect of the sex on anxiety and depression scores was not found. There was a significant effect of age, with higher depression rates with increasing age. Anxiety and depression correlate significantly positively with the fatigue syndrome and with subjective bodily complaints and significantly negatively with different aspects of quality of life.
Conclusions: Physical complaints in the elderly cannot be directly traced back to age-correlated multimorbidity. Rather, elderly persons with nonspecific bodily complaints and fatigue should also be screened for anxiety and depression.