Mental Illness in General Health Care: An International StudyT. Bedirhan Üstün, Norman Sartorius John Wiley & Sons, 1995 M06 15 - 398 pages Mental Illness in General Health Care An International Study Edited by T. B. Üstün, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland and N. Sartorius, University of Geneva, Switzerland This book presents the largest international study of psychological disorders seen in primary health care. Centres in fourteen countries participated in this investigation, including Brazil, Chile, China, India, Nigeria and the USA as well as several European countries. The study has shown how people with mental disorders present their problems to doctors and how likely their disorders are to be detected and treated. It has produced comparative data on the frequency and type of mental disorders seen in general health care in different settings, and has also assembled information about the treatment prescribed and about the pathways which lead patients to health services. Recognition of mental disorders is shown to be related to the way in which the services are organised. In addition to data on well defined disorders such as depression, anxiety and somatoform and alcohol use disorders, the study has also produced new knowledge concerning "subthreshold" disorders. These are characterized by a variety of symptoms which do not conform to a formal diagnosis of mental disorder according to standard psychiatric classifications. Information about the characteristics, development and outcome of these disorders is of considerable importance since they are frequent and cause distress and disability. The book gives a detailed account of findings in the different centres and provides a new insight into the nature of psychological disorders seen in primary health care and the factors which determine their recognition and treatment. The study showed a strong relationship between mental disorders and social disability in each centre and included information obtained from patients themselves, from the researchers and from the treating physicians. Interpretations of the data have been reached jointly by experts from different countries. This book is of primary interest to psychiatrists, general practitioners and students of medicine. It will also appeal to epidemiologists, social psychologists, public health personnel and health care administrators. |
Common terms and phrases
100.0 Among consecutive Agoraphobia F40.0 Alcohol dependence F10.2 amongst the disorders Ankara antidepressants Antipsychotics anxiety disorder F41.1 assessment Athens Bangalore benzodiazepines Berlin CIDI-PHC co-morbidity ratios amongst consecutive attenders Current depression F32/33 Current diagnostic status current ICD-10 psychological disorders mentioned Doctor-rated doctors Dysthymia F34 East Berlin Estimated interviewed Estimated Estimated interviewed prevalence Estimated Patients Estimated Groningen health care centre hospital hypochondriasis F45.2 Ibadan ICD-10 psychological disorders interviewed Estimated interviewed interviewed prevalence interviewed Jigani Mainz mental disorders mental health Nagasaki Neurasthenia F48.0 NIMHANS Ormel outpatient overall frequency amongst Panic disorder F41.0 Patients Estimated interviewed Patients Estimated Patients Patients interviewed Estimated Patients Patients Estimated physical population prevalence interviewed prevalence Prevalence of current primary health psychiatric disorders psychological problems Rio de Janeiro Sartorius screening second-stage interview Shanghai shows co-morbidity ratios shows the overall Somatization disorder F45.0 Somatoform disorders Subthreshold ICD-10 diagnosis Table Verona World Health Organization