Article Figures & Data
Figures
Tables
Supplemental Table
Supplemental Table: Percentage of Patients With Specific Depressive Symptoms (IDS-C30 by ROA)
Files in this Data Supplement:
- Supplemental data: Table - PDF file, 1 page, 82 KB
The Article in Brief
Major Depression Symptoms in Primary Care and Psychiatric Care Settings: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Bradley N. Gaynes, MD, MPH, and colleagues
Background Depressed patients are more likely to see a primary care doctor than a mental health specialist for diagnosis and treatment of depression. This study compares characteristics and conditions of depressed patients in primary care and psychiatric specialty care settings.
What This Study Found Patients with major depression in primary care and specialty care settings have similar symptoms and similar levels of depression. Risk factors for suicide are commonly seen in both settings, although they are more frequent in specialty care. In each setting, more than half of depressed patients had another psychiatric illness, in addition to depression.
Implications
- These findings challenge the suggestion that depressed patients in primary care settings are less depressed than those in specialty care settings.
- Research results based on similar patient populations may be applicable to both primary care and specialty care practices.
- The care of major depression increasingly falls on primary care doctors as better treatments become available and as community mental health clinics begin restricting treatment to patients with more