ANALYSIS OF THE TERMS USED BY GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS TO CHARACTERIZE PATIENTS CONSIDERED BY THEM AS DEPRESSED - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY ON 682 PATIENTS

The aim of the study was to investigate the terms used by general prac titioners (GPs) to describe the patients considered by them to be depr essed. 682 patients were diagnosed as depressed by 79 GPs selected at random in four regions of France. The frequency of the diagnosis of de pression made by GPs in the total patient population was 3.6-5%. The G Ps were asked to describe the main symptoms of these patients on a pla in chart. The percentage of use of each term was calculated in each re gion. In all the regions, the most frequent symptoms were insomnia (31 .8%), fatigue (29.9%) and anxiety (24.6%). The results suggest that th e three main terms used by GPs to describe depression differ from thos e used by psychiatrists.