Prevalence and detection of depressive disorders in primary care

To study the prevalence of depression in primary care, the detection of depressive disorders by primary care physicians, and the factors that influence detection. Cross-sectional, descriptive study. Gavà II Primary Care Center, in Barcelona, Spain. A total of 400 people between the ages of 18 and 65...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atención primaria 2002-04, Vol.29 (6), p.329-36; discussion 336-7
Main Authors: Gabarrón Hortal, E, Vidal Royo, J M, Haro Abad, J M, Boix Soriano, I, Jover Blanca, A, Arenas Prat, M
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depressive Disorder - epidemiology
Depressive Disorder - prevention & control
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Primary Health Care
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To study the prevalence of depression in primary care, the detection of depressive disorders by primary care physicians, and the factors that influence detection. Cross-sectional, descriptive study. Gavà II Primary Care Center, in Barcelona, Spain. A total of 400 people between the ages of 18 and 65 years were chosen randomly from among those who attended appointments with their primary care physician. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) screening test were administered, and the participant s medical record was reviewed. In a subsample of 40 participants, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was also administered. The optimum cutoff score for the BDI was estimated with reference to the MINI results. A cutoff score of 20/21 for the BDI had a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 92%, when the MINI score was used as a reference. The adjusted prevalence of depressive disorder in our primary care setting was 20.2% overall, 8.1% in men, and 26.8% in women (odds ratio 4.15, p < 0.01). The physician detected depressive symptoms in 55.7% of all likely cases of depression. Persons who scored >= 21 on the BDI made more visits to their primary care physician, and had more stressful life events, than those who scored 20. The prevalence of depression in our primary care setting is high. The disorder was underdiagnosed in as many as 44.3% of the persons likely to have depressive disorder (especially women, widows and widowers, retired persons, persons who had experienced stressful life events, and frequent users of primary care services).
ISSN:0212-6567