GHQ-28 AS AN AID TO DETECT MENTAL-DISORDERS IN NEUROLOGICAL INPATIENTS

The prevalence of mental disorders (DSM-IIIR criteria) among 107 neuro logical inpatients was estimated, as well as the extent to which disor ders were detected by neurologists. The validity of the scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was evaluated using Rece iver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis and DSM-IIIR as external criteria. Of the 107 patients who submitted to a structured psychiatri c interview (SCID-R), 56 (52.3%) showed evidence of a mental disorder. Major depressive episode (n = 16), generalized anxiety disorders (n = 13) and dysthymia (n = 12) were the most frequent diagnoses. The neur ologists recognized only 13/107 cases (12.1%). Significantly more wome n than men exhibited some form of mental disorder. The validation of G HQ-28 in the series of 107 neurological inpatients indicated that the best trade-off between sensitivity and specificity was the cut-off sco re of 5/6. The high occurrence of mental disorder, in association with the low rate of detection by the neurologists, points to the need for special attention to be paid to this problem by staff and experts.