Elder abuse and life-course victimization in hospitalized older adults in Sweden: prevalence and associations with mental ill-health

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of elder abuse has only rarely been investigated in Sweden and never in a hospital setting. Therefore, the aims of this study were to: 1) Estimate the prevalence of elder abuse and life-course victimization among hospitalized older adults in Sweden, 2) Explore factors associated with elder abuse in the same sample, and 3) Explore the associations between life-course victimization and mental ill-health. METHODS: The study was conducted at a university hospital in Sweden. Adults over the age of 65 years admitted to a medical or geriatric acute care ward during spring 2018 were consecutively recruited. The participant rate was 44% (n = 135/306). Participants were assessed via a face-to-face interview about their experiences of elder abuse and abuse earlier in life. Mental ill-health was measured using a self-administered depression assessment (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), along with information about medications and diagnoses retrieved from medical records. RESULTS: Altogether, 40.7% (n = 55) of the participants reported some form of abusive experience during their life course. The prevalence of elder abuse was 17.8% (n = 24), and 58% (n = 14) of elder abuse victims also reported victimization earlier in life. Being abused before the age of 65 was the only background factor associated with elder abuse (OR = 5.4; 95% CI 1.9–15.7). Reporting abusive experiences both before and after the age of 65 was associated with current anti-depressant medication (OR = 6.6; 95% CI 1.1–39.2), a PHQ-9 result of 10 or more (OR = 10.4; 95% CI 2.1–51.0), and nine or more symptom diagnoses (OR = 4.0, 95% CI 1.0–16.1). Being abused only before or after the age of 65 was not significantly associated with any mental ill-health outcome measure. CONCLUSIONS: Elder abuse and victimization earlier in life are highly prevalent among hospitalized older patients, and our findings underline the importance of a life-course perspective both in research on elder abuse and in clinical practice. Identifying and caring for older adults who have been subjected to abuse should be a priority in health care. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-022-03638-8.