Mental disorders among internal medical inpatients - Prevalence, detection, and treatment status

Objective: To determine the prevalence of ICD-IO mental disorders among int ernal medical inpatients, the relation between mental disorder, age, and ge nder, and the recognition and referral of the disordered patients. Method: 294 consecutive medical inpatients were examined with a two-phase design us ing the SCAN (Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry) for ICD -10 psychiatric diagnoses. Information from questionnaires and interviews w ith patients, doctors, nurses, and from medical records. Results: The preva lence of current mental disorders was 38.7%, being heavily increased in you ng patients. Main diagnoses were somatoform disorders (17.6%), phobias (12. 9%), substance use disorders (10.9%), and depression (8.3%). Psychiatric co nsultations were very few. About 38-56% of the cases were recognized by med ical doctors and nurses, and only about 20% were in mental health treatment . Conclusion: The prevalence of mental disorders among internal medical inp atients is high and increased in young patients and women. Detection and re ferral are low, and few are treated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science inc. All rig hts reserved.