J Prev Med Public Health.  2015 Sep;48(5):257-263. 10.3961/jpmph.15.009.

Prevalence of Depressive Disorder of Outpatients Visiting Two Primary Care Settings

• Jo SJ
• Yim HW
• Jeong H
• Song HR
• Ju SY
• Kim JL
• Jun TY

• KMID: 2381476
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.15.009

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Although the prevalence of depressive disorders in South Korea's general population is known, no reports on the prevalence of depression among patients who visit primary care facilities have been published. This preliminary study was conducted to identify the prevalence of depressive disorder in patients that visit two primary care facilities.
METHODS
Among 231 consecutive eligible patients who visited two primary care settings, 184 patients consented to a diagnostic interview for depression by psychiatrists following the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria. There were no significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, age, or level of education between the groups that consented and declined the diagnostic examination. The prevalence of depressive disorder and the proportion of newly diagnosed patients among depressive disorder patients were calculated.
RESULTS
The prevalence of depressive disorder of patients in the two primary care facilities was 14.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.1 to 19.2), with major depressive disorder 5.4% (95% CI, 2.1 to 8.7), dysthymia 1.1% (95% CI, 0.0 to 2.6), and depressive disorder, not otherwise specified 7.6% (95% CI, 3.7 to 11.5). Among the 26 patients with depressive disorder, 19 patients were newly diagnosed.
CONCLUSIONS
As compared to the general population, a higher prevalence of depressive disorders was observed among patients at two primary care facilities. Further study is needed with larger samples to inform the development of a primary care setting-based depression screening, management, and referral system to increase the efficiency of limited health care resources.

Keyword

Depression; Primary health care; Patients; Prevalence; Epidemiology

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Depressive Disorder, Major/*epidemiology
Female
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Male
Middle Aged
Outpatients
Prevalence
Primary Health Care
Republic of Korea/epidemiology