Alsaadi Taoufik, Kassie Seada, Mohamed Ali Ola, Mozahem Khaldoun, Al Fardan Safana, Ahmed Ahmed M
Department of Neurology, Psychiatry, American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Department of Education - Medical Affairs, Shaikh Khalifa Medical Center, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Front Psychiatry. 2019 Apr 25;10:263. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00263. eCollection 2019.
To determine the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in undiagnosed patients attending neurological services, and detect rates of referral to and attendance of psychiatric services. Depressive symptoms and anxiety were assessed in 395 adult patients with primary diagnoses of neurological disorders. The Patient Health Questionnaire nine-item depression scale (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder seven-item scale (GAD-7) were administered. Demographic details of the patients were recorded. Referral to and attendance of psychiatric services were recorded for patients scoring within the clinical range of depression and anxiety disorders (scores > 10). There was a 39% prevalence rate of depressive symptoms, 34% rate of anxiety, and 35.4% concurrent rate of both disorders in this cohort. The referral rate to psychiatric services was 33.6%, and attendance rate was 47.8%. There was significant association between severity of psychiatric symptoms and referral to psychiatric services, as well as significant association between comorbid psychiatric symptoms and attendance to psychiatric services. Our results indicate similar prevalence rates of comorbid psychiatric symptoms to studies carried out in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and relatively high attendance and referral rates to psychiatric services. The results shed light on the clinical profile of patients in this region and support the need for integrated collaborative medical services. Moreover, findings have important implications for health care policies pertaining to resource distribution and funding.
为确定在神经科就诊的未确诊患者中情绪和焦虑障碍的患病率，并检测转介至精神科服务的比例及精神科服务的就诊率。对395例初步诊断为神经疾病的成年患者进行了抑郁症状和焦虑评估。采用患者健康问卷9项抑郁量表（PHQ - 9）和广泛性焦虑障碍7项量表（GAD - 7）进行测评。记录了患者的人口统计学细节。对抑郁和焦虑障碍临床范围内得分（得分>10）的患者，记录其转介至精神科服务的情况及精神科服务的就诊情况。该队列中抑郁症状患病率为39%，焦虑患病率为34%，两种障碍的共病率为35.4%。转介至精神科服务的比例为33.6%，就诊率为47.8%。精神症状严重程度与转介至精神科服务之间存在显著关联，共病精神症状与精神科服务就诊之间也存在显著关联。我们的结果表明，共病精神症状的患病率与在中东和北非（MENA）地区开展的研究相似，且转介至精神科服务及精神科服务就诊的比例相对较高。这些结果揭示了该地区患者的临床特征，并支持了综合协作医疗服务的必要性。此外，研究结果对与资源分配和资金相关的医疗保健政策具有重要意义。
