Abstract
Objectives: To report on the incidence of delusional jealousy in elderly patients presenting to a district psychogeriatric service; and to investigate the clinical and socio-demographic correlates of delusional jealousy using three clinical groups of age and sex matched controls.
Methods: New referrals to a psychogeriatric service over a two-year period were screened for the presence of the symptom or sign of jealousy. Patient files were examined for relevant demographic and clinical features. Cases were matched for age and sex with referrals to the psychogeriatric service and referrals to the memory disorders clinic. Independent samples t-test and Chi-squared analysis (depending on data type) were conducted to identify possible antecedents and factors effecting prognosis.
Results: Thirteen patients with delusional jealousy were identified, five female and eight male. There were no significant differences between the three groups on level of education, marital status, or social activity at symptom onset. The delusional jealousy group were more likely to have marital problems (p < 0.01), were more likely to be dependent in their activities of daily living (p < 0.001), and were more likely to exhibit abnormal pre-morbid personality traits (p < 0.01). The delusional jealousy group scored significantly less on the MMSE (p < 0.05) and were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia (p < 0.05). Whilst all three groups reported other delusions only the delusional jealousy group reported experiencing hallucinations. Sex, diagnosis, and MMSE score correlated with recovery from delusional jealousy at 12 months.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that in an elderly population presenting to a psychogeriatric service the symptom or sign of delusional jealousy should be regarded by the clinician as a strong indicator of the presence of a dementia; and there are a number of antecedents and factors effecting prognosis which require careful consideration.