Psychiatria Danubina, Vol. 22 No. 2, 2010.
Conference paper
COMORBID CHRONIC DISEASES IN DEPRESSED AND NON-DEPRESSED PATIENTS IN FAMILY PRACTICE
Ines Diminić-Lisica
; Community Primary Health Centre County Primorsko-goranska, Rijeka, Department of Familiy medicine, Medical faculty, University of Rijeka, Croatia
Tanja Frančišković
; Department of psychiatry and psychological medicine, Medical faculty, University of Rijeka, Croatia
Sanja Janović
; Psychiatric Clinic, KBC Rijeka, Croatia
Branka Popović
; Community Primary Health Centre County Primorsko-goranska, Rijeka, Department of Familiy medicine, Medical faculty, University of Rijeka, Croatia
Miro Klarić
; Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Mostar, BiH
Iva Nemčić-Moro
; Clinic for Psychological Medicine, KBC Rebro, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Introduction: Depression is one of the five most frequent disorders in primary care practice and often remains unrecognized.
One of the reasons why depression often passes unnoticed is comorbidity – a number of different chronic diseases coexist with
depression, especially in elderly patients.
Aim: The aim of this research was to assess the difference between depressed and non-depressed patients regarding somatic and
mental comorbidity. The differences in drug use were also examined.
Subjects and Methods: Five hundred successive adult patients visiting family physicians in Rijeka, Croatia, were polled using the Beck Depression Inventory and a general questionnaire which was created for the purpose of the study. The existing medical records were also used.
Results: Elevated depression level was determined in 48.1% of the examinees. These patients were suffering from larger number
of chronic diseases (X=1.23) than non-depressed patients (X=0.70; t=5.07; p<0.001; z=4.93; p<0.001), especially cardiac, mental,
renal and osteomuscular diseases. Depressed persons used significantly more drugs (X=1.28) than non-depressed patients (X=0.58; t=6.10; p<0.001; z=5.78; p<0.001), especially antirheumatics, analgesics, sedatives, antidepressants, antiallergics and diuretics.
Conclusion: The research results point to a necessity of routine screening and early treatment of depression in patients with chronic diseases in primary care practice.
Keywords
comorbidity; chronic diseases; depression; family physician
Hrčak ID:
55690
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2010.
Visits: 1.525 *