Prevalence and recognition of depressive disorder at a primary health care centre in Pakistan

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and recognition of depressive disorder at a primary health care centre in Pakistan. A purposive sample of four hundred consecutive adult primary health care attenders was screened using GHQ-12. In the second-stage a total of 271 subjects (256 High scorers and 15 Low scorers on GHQ-12) were assessed using ICD-10, DCR as a diagnostic instrument. The prevalence rate of depression using ICD-10 DCR was 22.25%. The corresponding rate for the Primary Health Care Physician was 11.43%, suggesting that Primary Care Physicians recognised depression in almost 58.49% of the patients who fulfill the ICD-10nDCR for depressive disorder. In primary care, depression constitutes major health problem. Despite this fact, Primary Health Care Physicians do not recognise a substantial proportion of this disorder.