PREDICTION OF 1ST EPISODE OF CLINICAL DEPRESSION IN PATIENTS NEWLY ADMITTED TO A MEDICAL LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY - FINDINGS FROM A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

A cohort of 104 patients newly admitted to a medical long-term care facility was studied over 1 year for evolution of depression. Seven variables that were associated with level of depression were used in discriminant function analyses. Results showed that the variables had about 90% accuracy in predicting depressed versus non-depressed groups with good sensitivity and specificity. The variables measured: coping with admission; life satisfaction at admission; affective and non-affective symptoms at admission; clinical health status after admission; friends in hospital after admission; and changes in affective symptoms after admission before the onset of depression.