[Mental disorders in psychiatric outpatients in Spain]

The aim of data presented is to increase knowledge about the morbidity and impact of mental disorders in Spanish psychiatry. The objective is to describe, based on real practice conditions, the most prevalent mental disorders in a sample of Spanish patients treated in outpatient Psychiatry centers.

Epidemiological, naturalistic, prospective, cross-sectional study, carried out in the outpatient psychiatry setting in Spain in 2006. Mental disorders were assessed using the International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).

A total of 1,436 patients, 72% of whom were women, mean age of 49.2 ± 13.3 years, were included. According to the MINI assessment, 90.3 % of the patients were diagnosed of at least one mental disorder. The most prevalent mental disorders were: recurrent major depressive episode (27.2%, 353 patients); only current major depressive episode (2 weeks) (25.9%, 336 patients); current dysthymic disorder (last 2 years) (25.9%, 336 patients); current major depressive episode with melancholy symptoms (18.7%, 243 patients); current generalized anxiety disorder (16.6 %, 215 patients).

The study results show the prevalence of mental disorders in a sample representative of the Spanish population, treated in outpatient specialized Psychiatry centers. Mood and generalized anxiety disorders were the most prevalent disorders.