Who talks to a doctor about existing depressive illness?
Data on respondents from household and institutional samples from the St. Louis Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study who reported a depressive spell within the last year were analyzed to determine the type of recent depressive symptoms, sociodemographic and personal characteristics related to recent discussion with a doctor about depressive illness. Symptoms of lost appetite or substantial weight loss, being female and separated or widowed, and not using the Emergency Room as a usual source of care encouraged a recent discussion. Comparison with findings from studies of general mental health services use suggests that influences on help-seeking may vary across psychiatric disorders.
D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods