PSYCHIATRIC MORBIDITY AMONG FREQUENT ATTENDER PATIENTS IN PRIMARY-CARE

In this study, 96 frequent attender patients in primary care were comp ared with 466 other primary care patients. The focus was on psychiatri c morbidity, current and former psychiatric treatment, and self-percei ved need for treatment. The prevalence of psychiatric illness was much greater among frequent attender patients than other patients (54.0% v s. 24.0%, p < 0.001), and subclinical symptoms were common in both gro ups (34.0% vs. 43.2%). Depression and anxiety were the most common cli nical entities among frequent attender patients. However, very few pat ients had psychiatric treatment and the self-perceived need for treatm ent was low. The significance of these findings is discussed in the pa per.