[Validation of the Spanish version of PRIME-MD: a procedure for diagnosing mental disorders in primary care]

Psychiatric disorders occurs in at least 20% of patients attending Primary Care settings, however, only 50% of them are detected by primary care physicians. Therefore a tool is required which can help primary care physicians to detect and diagnose psychiatric disorders. PRIME-MD (Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders) is a questionnaire designed with this aim. In this article the results of the validation study of the Spanish version of this questionnaire are presented.

312 patients were interviewed by primary care physicians using PRIME-MD and by psychiatrists using SCAN (Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry).

The time most frequently spent in questionnaire application by the physician was 10 minutes. PRIME-MD detected the presence of at least one psychiatric disorder in 44.3% of patients. PRIME-MD diagnoses agree well with SCAN diagnoses for mood disorders (coefficient of agreement: 0.50) and for anxiety disorders (coefficient of agreement: 0.35), but not for somatoform disorders or alcohol-related disorders.

The Spanish version of PRIME-MD questionnaire in a useful tool to identify and diagnose mood and anxiety disorders in Primary Care settings.