Mental health problems in primary health care as seen by doctors

Mental health problems in primary health care are much more common than can be concluded by routine registration of diagnoses. This has been shown in a previous study by the authors in 1979. In order to test the consistency of these results (Study I) and the reliability of our method a replication was carried out in 1983 at the same health centre but with mainly other doctors (Study II). All visits to the health centre were studied during a period of four weeks. During the study period all doctors recorded mental health problems of importance for the visit in addition to the routine registration of diagnoses. The results of both studies showed a high degree of consistency. Mental health problems were observed in about 17% of the patients in both studies. Sex differences were similar: 20-21% of female patients and 14% of male patients had mental health problems. Psychiatric diagnoses were only registered in six per cent of patients in Study I and five per cent in Study II. Mental problems were especially common in connection with abdominal and chest disorders. The replication thus confirmed our previous findings that mental health problems are common in primary health care. Such problems should therefore be given more attention in the training of doctors in general practice.