Lifetime prevalence of specific psychiatric disorders in a general medicine clinic.
Using a two-stage case identification method, the Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Japanese modified Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS-JM), patients in a general medicine clinic in Japan were assessed for psychiatric disorders (DSM-III categories) during a 12-month period. The lifetime prevalence of all psychiatric disorders was 30.6%, excluding tobacco dependence. The most prevalent diagnoses were alcohol abuse and dependence 9.4%, psychosexual dysfunction 5.9%, and major depressive episode 4.7%. The predominant disorders in males were alcohol abuse and dependence and tobacco dependence, and in females (aged 55-80 years), the most striking disorder was organic brain syndrome. The validity of the GHQ was examined against the DIS-JM based on DSM-III as external criteria. A cutoff point between 7 and 8 is suggested.
Sato
T
T
Department of Psychiatry, Saga Medical School, Japan.
Takeichi
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*