title: The Association between Depressive Symptoms and Physical Diseases in Switzerland: A Cross-Sectional General Population Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the association between depressive symptoms and physical diseases in Switzerland, as respective findings might inform about future estimates of mental and physical health care costs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based study, using data from the Swiss Health Survey collected by computer-assisted telephone interviews and additional written questionnaires during the year 2007 (n = 18,760) in Switzerland. The multistage stratified random sample included subjects aged 15 years and older, living in a private Swiss household with a telephone connection. Complete data were available for 14,348 subjects (51% of all subjects reached by telephone). Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the associations between depressive symptoms and any physical disease, or a specific physical disease out of 13 non-communicable physical diseases assessed with a self-report checklist on common physical diseases. Analyses were adjusted for sex, age, education, occupation, and household income.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the adjusted models, depressive symptoms were associated with arthrosis and arthritis [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.28-2.50] and any physical disease (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.33-2.10) after controlling for multiple testing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the comorbidity of depressive symptoms and arthrosis and arthritis in Switzerland and might have implications for more precise future estimates of mental and physical health care costs.
authors: Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
authors: Donja
authors: D
authors: Rodic
authors: Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
authors: Andrea Hans
authors: AH
authors: Meyer
authors: Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland ; Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum , Bochum , Germany.
authors: Gunther
authors: G
authors: Meinlschmidt
keywords: co-occurrence; comorbidity; depressive symptoms; major depression; mental–physical; mental–somatic; physical disease