title: The diagnosis of anger as a presenting complaint in outpatient medical settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the diagnostic patterns for individuals presenting with a complaint of anger.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study examined the rates of psychiatric diagnoses in a nationally representative sample of visits (N=1,005,628) to outpatient medical settings by adults who presented with a complaint of anger. Data were from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1998-2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anger accounted for .14% (N=1,146) of the presenting complaints among all adults and was associated with being uninsured, Medicaid enrollment, Caucasian race, male gender, and younger age. Eighty-four percent of visits with an anger complaint included a psychiatric diagnosis, with 44% of diagnoses characterized as "not otherwise specified."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals who presented with a complaint of anger received a range of conventional mental health diagnoses. These findings suggested a pattern of diagnosis of a presenting complaint of anger that may encourage inadequate or improper treatment.
authors.forename: Nate L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Ewigman
authors.forename: Julius A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gylys
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Harman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult