Wilson K C, Chen R, Taylor S, McCracken C F, Copeland J R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool, Birkenhead.
Br J Psychiatry. 1999 Dec;175:549-53. doi: 10.1192/bjp.175.6.549.
The Townsend index is a measure of social deprivation. It can be applied to postal districts and has been employed in studies examining the ecological associations of mental illness.
We examine the utility of the Townsend index in identifying older populations with a high prevalence and risk of developing depression.
The study was carried out in the context of a cohort study of an age- and gender-stratified sample of 5222 community residents aged 65 years and over. Subjects were interviewed at intervals of two years. The relationships between Townsend score and psychiatric diagnoses (in particular, depression) were examined.
High Townsend scores were associated with increased prevalence and incidence of depression and prevalence of organic psychiatric illness.
The Townsend index can be used to prioritize psychiatric and primary care resources so as to cater for older populations likely to suffer from depression and organic psychiatric conditions.
汤森指数是衡量社会剥夺的一种指标。它可应用于邮政区，并已用于研究精神疾病的生态关联。
我们研究汤森指数在识别抑郁症患病率高且有患病风险的老年人群体方面的效用。
该研究是在一项队列研究的背景下进行的，该队列研究对5222名65岁及以上的社区居民进行了年龄和性别分层抽样。每隔两年对受试者进行一次访谈。研究了汤森得分与精神疾病诊断（特别是抑郁症）之间的关系。
汤森得分高与抑郁症患病率和发病率增加以及器质性精神疾病患病率相关。
汤森指数可用于确定精神科和初级保健资源的优先次序，以便为可能患有抑郁症和器质性精神疾病的老年人群体提供服务。
