Nearly a fifth of the patients visiting hospital out-patient
departments are suffering from depression or anxiety, a
comprehensive survey has revealed.
Launched by Social Economic Burden of Depression initiative, the
China Psychiatry Association and Wyeth, the results of the survey
were released in Shanghai yesterday in the lead-up to World Mental
Health Day on October 10.
The survey covered 8,487 patients in 15 comprehensive hospitals
in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha and was the
nation's largest study for 15 years looking at the incidence of
mental problems in patients attending out-patient departments and
how aware of the problems the doctors in these departments
were.
Experts estimate that about 19 million Chinese adults suffer
from depression.
Yet both the public and general practitioners are not very aware
of the problem - a problem which costs China annually 8.09 billion
yuan (US$1.08 billion) directly and 43.28 billion indirectly.
"We also found that many patients suffering physical illnesses
are also suffering from depression or other mental disorders," said
Dr. He Yanling from the Shanghai Mental Health Center. "Depression
makes people feel physically ill. About 90 percent of people
suffering from depression don't realize they have a problem in the
early stages. They just go to different hospitals for repeated
treatments most of which are useless."
She said depression can produce many different symptoms such as
headaches, stomach pains, cardiovascular problems, gynecological
problems and poor digestion.
The survey showed that neurology departments received the
highest number of people suffering from depression and anxiety,
followed by digestive disease departments and gynecology
departments.
"Moreover, only 8.24 percent of the patients were diagnosed as
suffering from mental problems by out-patient department doctors
and advised to go to a psychiatric department," Dr. He said. "Most
doctors only gave a diagnosis and treatment based on the symptoms
and their own experience. Even though some patients suspected they
were depressed, they did not seek psychiatric treatment for fear of
prejudice."
Health authorities have realized the importance of improving
psychiatric training for general practitioners.
(Shanghai Daily September 29, 2007)
