title: General practice estimates of the prevalence of common chronic conditions.
abstract: This study measured the prevalence of chronic medical conditions in 4,549 middle aged persons attending three large general practices in Dublin over the course of a calender year. The prevalence of the following conditions were measured: coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, asthma, chronic bronchitis, rheumatic disorders, dyspepsia, depression, anxiety disorders, psychoses, and cancer. In order to obtain a valid denominator for the study a second community based study was carried out in the same areas to determine what proportion of persons visit their general practitioner over the course of a year. Overall 40.5% of males and 44% of females suffered from a least one of the twelve conditions, with rheumatic disorders having the highest prevalence (14.5%) and psychotic disorders the lowest (0.75%).
authors.affiliation: Eastern Health Board, Dublin.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caroll
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Doherty
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: O'Kelly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence