[Mental illness in patients in primary health care. A Scandinavian multicenter study]

In a Nordic multicentre study of psychiatric illness in primary care, patients in four health districts were screened for psychiatric illness. General practitioners' ratings of psychiatric illness and patients' ratings of psychosocial problems were also included. The patients' utilisation of care and health insurance facilities was reviewed. A random subsample of patients were invited to a semi-structured diagnostic interview with a psychiatrist. Results from the Swedish part of the study showed about 1/3 of the 724 patients investigated to be probable psychiatric cases, while 1/5 were psychiatric cases in need of treatment. The psychiatric cases were characterised by a preponderance of divorced, unemployed women. At 1-year follow up, the utilisation rate of care and health insurance facilities among psychiatric cases was found to be higher than for nonpsychiatric cases.