The Lübeck General Hospital Study. I: Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in medical and surgical inpatients.

The aim of the Lübeck General Hospital study was to assess the prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in medical and surgical general hospital patients, as well as treatment needs. In a cross-sectional study, a total of 400 patients were interviewed, 200 each from medical and surgical departments. We used the standardized Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and, in addition, a clinical interview. In the first of two articles, the prevalence rates of ICD-10 diagnoses, which had to be present within seven days before the interview, are described. Of the total sample, 35.5% of the patients received a CIDI diagnosis and 46.8% a clinical diagnosis. The most prominent disorders were organic mental disorders (CIDI, 18.3%; clinical, 16.5%), alcoholism (4.5% and 8.3%), and depression (8.3% and 15.3%). With regard to the spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses, no significant differences were found between the medical and the surgical sample. When compared to surveys of the general population in Germany, the prevalence rates of organic mental disorders, alcoholism and adjustment disorders were considerably higher in general hospital patients.