Screening and correlates of neurotic disorders among general medical outpatients in Xi'an China.

PURPOSE

Little is known about the distribution and correlates of neurotic disorders among general medical outpatients. The aim was to identify the population distribution and associated factors of neurotic disorders among general medical outpatients.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A cross-sectional design was used. Computer-assisted interviews of 372 general outpatients aged 16 years or older in Xi'an China were conducted using a Chinese version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview version 3.0 (CIDI-3.0).

FINDINGS

The estimated lifetime prevalence of any ICD-10 neurotic disorder among general medical outpatients was 10.8%. The most prevalent subtype of neurotic disorders was specific phobias (5.7%) followed by obsessive-compulsive disorders (3.8%) and social phobias (1.3%). General outpatients who visited the department of internal medicine (OR = 6.55, 95% CI 1.51-28.38), who were under 40 years old (OR = 4.44, 95% CI 2.05-9.62), had less than high school education (OR = 4.19, 95% CI 1.79-9.79), and were female (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 1.14-4.47) were most likely to report neurotic disorders.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Effective identification of neurotic disorders is crucial for its early detection and targeted intervention among general medical outpatients. Those outpatients who had younger age and lower education level, and were female and had visited internal medicine departments require additional attention.