Discovery of Association Rules Patterns and Prevalence of Comorbidities in Adult Patients Hospitalized with Mental and Behavioral Disorders

Psychiatric Morbidity Among Older Hospitalized Patients

Background

Globally, life expectancy is increasing, leading to an equal proportion of elderly and young individuals, which carries extensive implications. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the average age at death in 2021 was 77 years, positioning BiH in the middle of the global list of average life expectancy. Current studiesinvestigate whether the prevalence of psychiatric disorders increases or decreases with age, but results are inconsistent regarding the role of age.There is no prior research on mental disorders in the elderly population in BiH. The experience of the previous war in BiH and the post-war complex "transitional period" have been associated with specific challenges to the mental health of this population, inspiring our research topic.

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the psychiatric morbidity in hospitalized individuals aged≥55 years.

Methods

The sample consisted of all patients over age 55 treated at the Department of Psychiatry in Tuzla between January 2018 and December 2020 (N=637), divided into four age categories. Data were obtained from medical records, and for research purposes, a specific questionnaire was constructed.

Results

The predominant psychiatric morbidity stemmed from the category of affective disorders, most common within the "55-64 years" age group, while organic mental disorders were more prevalent in other age groups.Substance use disorders were present in patients aged "55-64 years", with a sharp decline in their prevalence in older age. Female participants had a significantly higher prevalence of affective, psychotic, neurotic, and stress-related disorders, whereas male participants exhibited an increased prevalence of organic mental and substance use disorders.

Conclusion

In total sample, the most prevalent diagnoses belong to the category of affective disorders. Female were most frequently diagnosed with affective disorders, whereas organic mental disorders and substance use disorders prevail in male.

Comorbidity Patterns of Mood Disorders in Adult Inpatients: Applying Association Rule Mining

This study explored physical and psychiatric comorbidities of mood disorders using association rule mining. There were 7709 subjects who were patients (≥19 years old) diagnosed with mood disorders and included in the data collected by the Korean National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey (KNHDS) between 2006 and 2018. Physical comorbidities (46.17%) were higher than that of psychiatric comorbidities (27.28%). The frequent comorbidities of mood disorders (F30-F39) were hypertensive diseases (I10-I15), neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders (F40-F48), diabetes mellitus (E10-E14), and diseases of esophagus, stomach, and duodenum (K20-K31). The bidirectional association path of mood disorders (F30-F39) with hypertensive diseases (I10-I15) and diabetes mellitus (E10-E14) were the strongest. Depressive episodes (F32) and recurrent depressive disorders (F33) revealed strong bidirectional association paths with other degenerative diseases of the nervous system (G30-G32) and organic, including symptomatic and mental disorders (F00-F09). Bipolar affective disorders (F31) revealed strong bidirectional association paths with diabetes mellitus (E10-E14) and hypertensive diseases (I10-I15). It was found that different physical and psychiatric disorders are comorbid according to the sub-classification of mood disorders. Understanding the comorbidity patterns of major comorbidities for each mood disorder can assist mental health providers in treating and managing patients with mood disorders.