Centre for Policy on Ageing



Lithium in the over 65s: who is taking it and who is monitoring it? — a survey of older adults on lithium in the Cambridge Mental Health Services catchment area
Author(s)	Laura Head, Tom Dening
Journal title	International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 13, no 3, March 1998
Pages	pp 164-171
Keywords	Drugs ; Psychiatric treatment ; Evaluation ; Clinical surveys ; Cambridge.
Annotation	This study aimed to identify lithium patients aged 65 and over in the Cambridge Mental Health Services catchment area, and to obtain a profile of the group with particular reference to factors that make close monitoring advisable. 148 patients were identified in the census carried out. GPs carried out lithium monitoring for most of the group. 47% had not been seen by a psychiatrist in the 12 months leading up to the census date. There was a high rate of thyroid dysfunction: 32% of the group were on thyroxine treatment, or had raised TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) levels. Standards of monitoring varied widely, and were not always better where psychiatrists monitored the treatment, although psychiatrists were more likely that GPs to monitor renal function. The unwanted effects and risks of toxicity are reasons for carrying out lithium monitoring in older people.
Accession Number	CPA-980428003 A
Classmark	LLD: LP: 4C: 3G: 8CF
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.