Post-traumatic stress disorder in primary-care settings: prevalence and physicians' detection.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the prevalence of PTSD in primary-care settings and regarding the ability of primary-care physicians to detect PTSD. The current study examines prevalence of PTSD in a national sample of primary-care attenders and primary-care physicians' detection of PTSD and general psychological distress in PTSD patients.


METHODS
Data are from a national study of 2975 primary-care attenders in Israel. Demographic data, responses to the GHQ-28, PTSD Inventory and physicians' diagnoses were examined.


RESULTS
Twenty-three per cent of all patients who attended clinics (N = 684) reported traumatic events, 39% of whom (males 37%, females 40%) met criteria for PTSD on the PTSD Inventory. Eighty per cent of the males and 92% of the females with PTSD were distressed according to the GHQ. According to physicians, 37% of persons who reported trauma (40% of the women, 32% of the men) suffered from psychological distress. Only 2% of patients meeting PTSD criteria on the self-report measure were given a diagnoses of PTSD by physicians.


CONCLUSIONS
Many primary-care patients suffer from PTSD, which is usually accompanied by major psychological distress. Attention by primary-care physicians to a history of trauma could improve physicians' detection of this disabling disorder.
Taubman-Ben-Ari
O
O
School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Rabinowitz
J
J
Feldman
D
D
Vaturi
R
R
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011361:Professional Competence; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*