Prevalence and Recognition of Depressive Disorder in Three Medical Outpatient Departments of General Hospitals in Beijing, China

Abstract

This purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and recognition of depressive disorders in cardiology, gastroenterology, and neurology outpatient departments of general hospitals. Patients screened with a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score of 8 or higher were interviewed by psychiatrists using Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Prevalence of depressive disorders within the cohort was determined, sociodemographic data were analyzed for correlations to a depression diagnosis, and comparisons between the surveys and the clinical diagnosis were done to assess recognition of depressive disorders by physicians. Of the patients screened for this study (1552 cases), 12.8% were diagnosed with depressive disorders by MINI, with major depressive disorder, depression due to general medical conditions, and dysthymia having prevalence values of 10.8%, 1.4%, and 0.6%, respectively. As compared with MINI, physicians only recognized 27.6% of any of the depressive disorders. Among the complaints examined, both mood problems and sleeping problems predicted the probability of recognition.

Mental health resources and awareness of anxiety and depressive disorders in general hospitals in China

“…In the present study, 2012 accounted for 46.2% of the total number of outpatients in the 3 years covered (2010-2012), and the number of consultations for mental illness reached 44.3%, suggesting that the workload on psychiatric departments in China is increasing 18 . Nevertheless, a previous study in China showed that physicians in non-psychiatric departments only recognized about 27% of patients with depressive disorders 19 .…”