When and how well does the family physician recognize generalized anxiety disorders and depressions?
Hoyer I; Krause P; Hfler M; Beesdo K; Wittchen HU Institut für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie der TU Dresden. BACKGROUND: Recognition rates for generalized anxiety disorder (GAS) and depression in primary care and its predictors are reported. METHODS: Based on the results of GAD-P study screening questionnaires, the investigators evaluated how many patients were correctly classified by primary care physicians a) as cases with mental disorders and b) as specific disorder cases. Socio-demographic and illness history variables of patients as well as features of physicians were analyzed as predictors of recognition by regression analyzes. RESULTS: Physicians recognized a mental disorder in more than two thirds of cases with GAS; rates were even higher in patients with comorbid anxiety and depression (85.4%). Recognition of the specific disorder was conspicuously worse in patients with GAS (34.4%) in comparison with patients with depression (64.3%). Only the variables of patients’
