Mental disorders, perceived health and quality of life of older prisoners in France

Background. People serving prison sentences have major needs in terms of their physical and mental health. However, little is known about the prevalence of mental disorders affecting older prisoners and about how they evaluate their state of health and their quality of life. Objective. The aim of our study is to identify whether there is a link between mental disorders and the level of perceived health and quality of life of older prisoners. Methods. For the group 1, we recruited 138 male prisoners aged 50 and over in 7 French prisons. The control group was composed of 138 community-dwelling men aged 50 and over. The research protocol comprised four scales (The mini international neuropsychiatric interview, The French version of the Nottingham health profile, The scale of the subjective state of mental health, The WHOQOL-BREF). Results. The results reveal a very high prevalence of mental disorders among older prisoners, notably depression and anxiety. The evaluation of perceived health and quality of life is also significantly lower in the group of older prisoners. Conclusion. We discuss the link between having one or more mental disorders and a negative evaluation of perceived health and quality of life.