Symptoms and history of hoarding in older adults

Elderly participants with clinically significant hoarding (n=25) and a comparison sample without hoarding (n=28) completed in-home interviews and questionnaires about saving behaviors and beliefs, daily activities, and depression. The hoarding sample had a bimodal onset age and scored significantly higher than non-hoarding participants on measures of clutter, difficulty discarding and acquiring, and on beliefs about responsibility and emotional attachment to possessions. They did not show significantly more depression or concern about memory but reported more problems with personal hygiene, although these were mild. Friends and family were rated significantly more concerned about the hoarding than were the participants. This somewhat less severe sample of older adults showed milder emotional, cognitive, and behavioral effects and limited problems with insight compared to prior studies.

► Elders with mild to moderate hoarding had bimodal onset age—before age 20 and after age 50.
► Hoarding elders had mild problems with home odor and personal hygiene.
► Friends and family were more concerned about hoarding than were the hoarding elders.
► This sample showed milder hoarding and less problem with insight compared to prior studies.