engleski

The prevalence and detection of depressive disorders in a Croatian primary care setting

Depressive disorders are among the five most frequent complaints seen in primary care settings and, in many cases, go unrecognised. The aim of this research was to examine the prevalence of depression in a Croatian primary care setting, and to investigate the proportion of depressive patients recognised and treated by either family physicians or psychiatrists respectively. Five hundred consecutive adult attenders at four general practices in Rijeka, Croatia were screened using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a proforma designed for this study. The results showed that 48.1% of investigated subjects had mild, moderate or severe depression on the BDI. Associations were found between depression and gender, age, marital status, parity and level of education. Detection of depression by primary care physicians was low: only 13.1% were recognised and treated within primary care or by psychiatrists. The Prevalence of depression among Croatian primary care attenders is high and recognition is low. This the first study of its kind from Croatia.

Depressivness; Demographic characteristics; Family physician; Recognition of depression

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