[Prevalence and diagnosis of depression in primary care. A critical comparison between PHQ-9 and GPs' judgement].
OBJECTIVE
Up to 50 % of patients suffering from major depression are not recognised by their general practitioners. On the other hand general practitioners do rate some of their patients as depressive despite the fact that psychiatric diagnostic instruments do not. In this study we wanted to not only analyse the number and proportion of concordant diagnoses between GP and an established psychiatric diagnostic instrument (PHQ-9), but also to analyse the modalities of non-concordant diagnostic classifications.


METHODS
34 participating GPs asked all their patients visiting them at one ordinary work-day to fill in a questionnaire that included the German version of PHQ-9. Independently GPs documented their diagnostic judgement. If they saw a mental affection, they were asked to choose between eight different affections, with depression being just one of them.


RESULTS
1 277 patients filled in the questionnaires; from these 902 questionnaires could be analysed, because a pair of GP and patient could be identified. The prevalence of major-depression in the study-population was 9 %. GPs and PHQ-9 diagnoses were concordant in 45 %. However, GPs rated two thirds of patients that were classified as depressed by the PHQ-9 as psychologically affected. In these patients they also devoted more than half of the consultation time to mental problems.


CONCLUSIONS
GPs do often not diagnose patients as depressive even though they clearly realise their mental affection. Simple explanations like lack of time or conscious or unconscious avoidance to make a psychiatric diagnosis cannot explain this phenomenon.
Abteilung für Allgemeinmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, Düsseldorf.
Martin
M
Sielk
Attila
A
Altiner
Birgit
B
Janssen
Nicole
N
Becker
Marieke Pilar
MP
de Pilars
Heinz-Harald
HH
Abholz
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data