Health of elderly male prisoners: worse than the general population, worse than younger prisoners.

BACKGROUND Assessment of the health of men aged 60 and over in English and Welsh prisons. METHODS 203 men were interviewed from 15 prisons, comprising one-fifth of all sentenced men in this age group in England and Wales. Assessment included semi-structured interviews covering chronic and acute health problems, and recording of major illnesses from the medical notes and prison reception health screen. RESULTS 85% of the elderly prisoners had one or more major illnesses reported in their medical records, and 83% reported at least one chronic illness on interview. The most common illnesses were psychiatric, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and respiratory. CONCLUSION The rates of illness in elderly prisoners are higher than those reported in other studies of younger prisoners and surveys of the general population of a similar age. The increasing number of elderly people in prison poses specific health challenges for prison health-care services.