DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS ARE OFTEN UNRECOGNIZED IN GYNECOLOGICAL PRACTICE

We performed a study on depressive symptoms in gynaecological practice in Belgium, identifying depressive symptoms according to both practit ioners' opinions and the scores on a scale developed to detect depress ion in general medical settings. According to the 170 participating gy naecologists, 12% of the 2174 women they interviewed had symptoms of d epression. However, 35% had two or more positive answers on the Depres sion Scale, and 19% had four or more positive answers. Our results sug gest that depressive symptoms are often not identified in clinical gyn aecological practice. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Ail right s reserved.