Subjective distress predicts treatment seeking for depression, bipolar, anxiety, panic, neurasthenia and insomnia severity spectra.

OBJECTIVE

To examine correlates of mental health treatment seeking such as gender, diagnosis, impairment, distress and mastery.

METHOD

Longitudinal epidemiological data from the Zurich Study of common psychiatric syndromes, including unipolar and bipolar depression, panic, anxiety, neurasthenia and insomnia, were utilized. In longitudinal Generalized Estimating Equations, treatment seeking was regressed on measures of subjective distress and impairment, childhood family problems, mastery and number of comorbid diagnoses.

RESULTS

Approximately half of all treated participants across all six syndromes suffered from subthreshold disorders. Meeting full or subthreshold diagnostic criteria was associated with treatment seeking for insomnia. Being female was associated with treatment seeking for depression. The only variable highly and consistently associated with treatment seeking, across all syndromes, was subjective distress. Treated participants reported high levels of distress, work and social impairment in both diagnostic and subthreshold groups.

CONCLUSION

Subjective distress may be a better indicator of treatment seeking than symptom count.