Detection of psychiatric morbidity in gynecology patients by two brief screening methods.
Psychiatric morbidity was studied in 100 women attending gynecological outpatient and inpatient set-ups using two brief screening instruments: the General Health Questionnaire, 12 items, and the Present State Examination, ten short questions. Psychiatric morbidity was detected in 36% and was found to be higher in women with uterine prolapse and infections but not in those with menstrual irregularities (p < 0.001). The commonest psychiatric symptoms detected in this population were worrying (50%), aches and pains (51%), depression (50%) and disturbances of biological function (51%). The commonest diagnoses were neurotic depression (70%) and adjustment disorders (23%). The screening instruments used were found to be simple, sensitive, specific, with high identification indices and easy to administer.
Chaturvedi
S K
SK
Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India.
Chandra
P S
PS
Prema
S V
SV
Issac
M K
MK
Sudarshan
C Y
CY
Beena
M B
MB
Kulkarni
S
S
Rangan
U
U
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology