Six-month and 12-month mental health outcome of medical and surgical patients admitted to general hospital.
BACKGROUND
We have recently reported a two-phase study on psychiatric morbidity in a sample of general hospital patients. This paper reports the results of the 6-month and 12-month follow-up of these patients.


METHODS
The screening questionnaire was the GHQ-12. The main diagnostic instrument used in the second phase was the CIDI-PHC. All patients who had been interviewed with CIDI-PHC (N = 363) were followed-up and the baseline assessment was compared with the scoring on questionnaires administered in the 6-month postal enquiry and with the psychopathological status at 12-month, elicited with a telephone structured interview.


RESULTS
Sixty-two and 87% of patients completed the 6- and 12-month follow-up assessment respectively. The first follow-up indicated no significant decrease in the level of symptoms. The 12-month follow-up interview showed that 23% of males and 40% of females had poor/mostly poor mental health. The logistic model showed that females with a definite ICD-10 diagnosis, admitted to a medical department, who had consumed psychotropic drugs in the previous year, had the most unfavourable outcome. The risk of a poor/mostly poor outcome steadily increased with the severity of the psychopathology during hospitalization.


CONCLUSIONS
In medical and surgical general hospital patients the risk factors associated with a poor mental health outcome are similar to those found in primary care patients. Greater attention should be paid in assessing routinely mental health status of general hospital patients during hospitalization.
Balestrieri
M
M
Dipartimento di Medicina e Sanità Pubblica, Sezione di Psichiatria, Università di Verona, Italy.
Bisoffi
G
G
De Francesco
M
M
Eridani
B
B
Martucci
M
M
Tansella
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors