Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T07:34:41.525Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hoarding in the elderly: a critical review of the recent literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2017

David M. Roane ,
Alyssa Landers ,
Jackson Sherratt  and
Gillian S. Wilson
David M. Roane*
Affiliation:
Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York, NY, USA
Alyssa Landers
Affiliation:
The New School for Social Research, New York, NY, USA
Jackson Sherratt
Affiliation:
Project ORE, New York, NY, USA
Gillian S. Wilson
Affiliation:
The New School for Social Research, New York, NY, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: David M. Roane, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, First Avenue at 16th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA. Phone: +1-212-420-3480; Fax: +1-212-420-3442. Email: droane@chpnet.org.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Hoarding is now a stand-alone diagnosis in DSM-5. The objective of this review is to critically evaluate the most recent literature on hoarding disorder (HD) in ageing patients.

Methods:

A literature search was conducted using PubMed and PsychINFO to identify papers from 2000 to 2015 that examined HD and hoarding symptoms in late-life participants.

Results:

Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria. Selected studies had significant methodological limitations with regard to participant sampling, diagnostic criteria, and methods for identifying co-morbid conditions. Hoarding in the elderly generally had onset before age 40 years, increased in severity after middle age, and was linked with social isolation. Depression was associated with hoarding in 14–54% of geriatric cases. Co-morbid anxiety and PTSD were also found. A variety of medical conditions were more common in seniors with hoarding including arthritis and sleep apnea. Late-life hoarding was associated with deficits in memory, attention, and executive function.

Conclusions:

HD in the elderly has distinct features. A combination of self-neglect, psychiatric and medical co-morbidities, and executive dysfunction may contribute to the progression of hoarding symptoms in the elderly.

Keywords

hoardingself-neglectsqualorlate-life
Type
Review Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 29 , Issue 7 , July 2017 , pp. 1077 - 1084
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramowitz, J. S., Wheaton, M. G. and Storch, E. A. (2008). The status of hoarding as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 1026–1033. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2008.05.006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Ayers, C. R., Iqbal, Y. and Strickland, K. (2014a). Medical conditions in geriatric hoarding disorder patients. Aging & Mental Health, 18, 148–151. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2013.814105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ayers, C. R., Najmi, S., Mayes, T. L. and Dozier, M. E. (2015). Hoarding disorder in older adulthood. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 4, 416–422. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2014.05.009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayers, C. R., Princeton, L., Howard, I., Mayes, T., Porter, B. and Iqbal, Y. (2014b). Hoarding severity predicts functional disability in late-life hoarding disorder patients. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29, 741–746. doi: 10.1002/gps.4057.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ayers, C. R., Saxena, S., Golshan, S. and Wetherell, J. L. (2010). Age at onset and clinical features of late life compulsive hoarding. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25, 142–149. doi: 10.1002/gps.2310.Google ScholarPubMed
Ayers, C. R., Schiehser, D., Liu, L. and Wetherell, J. L. (2012). Functional impairment in geriatric hoarding participants. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 1, 263–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayers, C. R., Wetherell, J. L., Schiehser, D., Almklov, E., Golshan, S. and Saxena, S. (2013). Executive functioning in older adults with hoarding disorder. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28, 1175–1181. doi: 10.1002/gps.3940.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cipriani, G., Lucetti, C., Vedovello, M. and Nuti, A. (2012). Diogenes syndrome in patients suffering from dementia. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 14, 455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, A. N. G., Mankikar, G. D. and Gray, I. (1975). Diogenes syndrome: a clinical study of gross neglect in old age. The Lancet, 305, 366–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diefenbach, G. J., DiMauro, J., Frost, R., Steketee, G. and Tolin, D. F. (2013). Characteristics of hoarding in older adults. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 1043–1047. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2013.01.028.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frost, R. O. and Hartl, T. L. (1996). A cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 341–350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frost, R. O., Steketee, G. and Tolin, D. F. (2012). Diagnosis and assessment of hoarding disorder. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 8, 219–242. doi: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halliday, G., Banerjee, S., Philpot, M. and Macdonald, A. (2000). Community study of people in squalor. The Lancet, 355, 882–886.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lal, C., Strange, C. and Bachman, D. (2012). Neurocognitive impairment in obstructive apnea. Chest, 141, 1601–1610. doi: 10.1378/chest.11-2214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackin, R. S., Areán, P. A., Delucchi, K. L. and Mathews, C. A. (2011). Cognitive functioning in individuals with severe compulsive hoarding behaviors and late life depression. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26, 314–321. doi: 10.1002/gps.2531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maier, T. (2004). On phenomenology and classification of hoarding: a review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 110, 323–337.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marx, M. S. and Cohen-Mansfield, J. (2003). Hoarding behavior in the elderly: a comparison between community-dwelling persons and nursing home residents. International Psychogeriatrics, 15, 289–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mataix-Cols, D. et al. (2010). Hoarding disorder: a new diagnosis for DSM V?. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 556–572. doi: 10.1002/da.20693.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montero-Odasso, M. et al. (2005). Is collectionism a diagnostic clue for diogenes syndrome?. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20, 709–711.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morein-Zamir, S. et al. (2014). The profile of executive function in OCD hoarders and hoarding disorder. Psychiatry Research, 215, 659–67. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.12.026.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pavlou, M. P. and Lachs, M. S. (2006). Could self-neglect in older adults be a geriatric syndrome?. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 54, 831–842.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pertusa, A. et al. (2010). Refining the diagnostic boundaries of compulsive hoarding: a critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 371–386. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.01.007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poythress, E. L., Burnett, J., Naik, A. D., Pickens, S. and Dyer, C. B. (2007). Severe self-neglect: an epidemiological and historical perspective. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 18, 5–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, J. M. et al. (2011). Hoarding behaviors among nonclinical elderly adults: correlations with hoarding cognitions, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and measures of general psychopathology. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 1116–1122. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.08.002.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenthal, M., Stelian, J., Wagner, J. and Berkman, P. (1998). Diogenes syndrome and hoarding in the elderly: case reports. The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 36, 29–34.Google Scholar
Samuels, J. F. et al. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in a community-based sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46, 836–844. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2008.04.004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snowdon, J. and Halliday, G. (2011). A study of severe domestic squalor: 173 cases referred to an old age psychiatry service. International Psychogeriatrics. 23, 308–314. doi: 10.1017/S1041610210000906.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snowdon, J., Shah, A. and Halliday, G. (2007). Severe domestic squalor: a review. International Psychogeriatrics, 19, 37–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steketee, G., Schmalisch, C. S., Dierberger, A., DeNobel, D. and Frost, R. O. (2012). Symptoms and history of hoarding in older adults. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 1, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tolin, D. F. et al. (2012). Neural mechanisms of decision making in hoarding disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69, 832–841. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.1980.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tolin, D. F., Meunier, S. A., Frost, R. O. and Steketee, G. (2010). Course of compulsive hoarding and its relationship to life events. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 829–838. doi: 10.1002/da.20684.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed