[Comorbidity of chronic diseases and psychiatric disorders among patients attending public primary care].

BACKGROUND

As a part of the World Health Organization multicentric study of emotional disorders in general medical care, we studied patients who had a chronic medical ailment and a psychiatric disorder, according to ICD-10.

AIM

To report the prevalence of patients with coexisting medical and psychiatric disorders.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

All patients, aged 15 to 65 years old, consulting in primary care outpatient clinics, were interviewed using a general health questionnaire. In a second phase, patients with chronic medical disorders were subjected to the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Instrument.

RESULTS

Sixty nine percent of interviewed Chilean patients had a medical condition, compared to 60.3% of the global study group. Of these, 66% had a coexisting psychiatric diagnosis, compared to 31% of the global study group. The most frequent diagnoses in the Chilean sample were somatization disorders in 25%, harmful alcohol use in 14%, depression in 35% and hypochondriasis in 6%. There was a higher prevalence and odds ratio for psychiatric diagnoses among Chilean women.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with chronic medical disorders should be considered a high risk group for the coexistence of psychiatric disturbances.