[Comparative study of the frequency and features of emotional disturbances in patients in primary care clinics]

Psychological problems are a frequent cause of consultation in primary care outpatient clinics.

To report the results for Santiago de Chile of the World Health Organisation multicentric collaborative study on Psychological Symptoms in General Health Care.

The results of 1453 patients that attended three primary care clinics in East Metropolitan Santiago were compared with those of patients studied in 15 other centers throughout the world. Two hundred fifty three cases were studied in detail with a structured diagnostic interview (CIDI-PHC). The capacity of general physicians to recognise emotional disorders as well as their management of psychological cases was also assessed.

Among the 253 patients studied in detail, 53% of patients had a definite psychiatric diagnosis, compared with 24% of patients, as an average, in other countries. There was a higher prevalence of depression, generalised anxiety disorder, neurasthenia and harmful use of alcohol. Chilean physicians recognised 74.1% of patients with psychiatric conditions, as compared with 48.9% of physicians abroad. Tranquilizing agents were the most often prescribed medications (40%) followed by antidepressants (18%).

There is a high prevalence of emotional disorders in patients consulting at the primary care level.