Increase in observed mental health difficulties one year after acute coronary syndrome: general practitioner survey.
BACKGROUND
General practitioners (GPs) are often the first to assess mental health difficulties after acute coronary syndrome (ACS).


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether GPs observed an increase in mental health difficulties one-year post-hospitalisation for ACS.


METHODS
Postal survey.


RESULTS
GPs rated patients (n = 442) as having probable (GP assessed 10%) or definite (formally assessed 7%) mental health difficulties pre-hospitalisation. Post-hospitalisation the prevalence of probable cases increased significantly to 19% (OR = 4.3, 95% CI 2.1-10.2, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, only smoking at index hospitalisation was associated with being assessed as a new case of probable/formal mental health difficulties (RR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.4, P = 0.003). Forty-seven percent of cases were prescribed some medication for this problem.


CONCLUSIONS
GPs recorded a significant increase in mental health difficulties in ACS patients 12 months after hospitalisation, with smoking used as an indicator of new cases.
Doyle
F
F
Department of Psychology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland. fdoyle4@rcsi.ie
McGee
H M
HM
Conroy
R M
RM
Shelley
E
E
De La Harpe
D
D
D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health
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