[Feeling sick and its relationship with anxiety and depression at a primary care emergency service].
OBJECTIVE
To study whether patients who consult because of feeling sick present more often with anxiety and depression disorders than the other patients using a rural emergency primary care service.


METHODS
Transversal descriptive study with paired control group. A questionnaire with clinical and social-demographic questions and the Goldberg Anxiety-Depression Scale (GADS) were administered, with uni- and bi-variate statistical analysis (P< .05).


METHODS
Intensive Care and Emergency Unit, Baena, Córdoba, Spain.


METHODS
Sample of 166 patients aged between 15 and 65; 83 in the study group (SG = feeling sick) and 83 in the control group (CG = not feeling sick).


RESULTS
The SG was positive on the GADS in 80.7% of cases, against the CG with 54.2% (P< .0001). Anxiety sub-scale: 61.4% positive in SG and 42.2% in CG (P=.013). Depression sub-scale: 73.5% positive in SG and 47% in CG (P< .0001); 89.1% of women gave positive in the SG, against 64.3% of men (P=.007). Patients feeling sick who had consulted in the previous month (P=.039) and with a psychiatric history (P=.017) also showed a higher percentage of psychiatric disorders than those who did not feel sick.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients feeling sick as their main symptom have higher prevalence of anxiety and depression than other patients at a rural PC emergency service. Being a woman, having a psychiatric history and having consulted in the previous month are related with these disorders.
Montero Monterroso
José Luis
JL
Servicio de Urgencias, Dispositivo de Cuidados Críticos y Urgencias, Baena, Córdoba, España. walrus@monteromonte.jazztel.es
Pérula de Torres
Luis Angel
LA
Larrea Barroso
María Jesús
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004244:Dizziness / Q000150:complications*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D055815:Young Adult