Prevalence And Rates Of Recognition Of Anxiety Disorders In Internal Medicine Outpatient Departments Of General Hospitals In Shenyang

PrefaceAnxiety disorders are one of the most common mental diseases. There has been an increasing incidence rate and this has created a burden on global economics. International studies showed that the prevalence of anxiety disorders was higher in the general hospital than in the general population, but the recognition rate of physicians in the general hospital was lower. Medical condition with a combination of anxiety disorders could lead to a higher fatality rate. Anxiety disorders can be cured by seeing a doctor regularly, so that recognition rates need to be improved urgently. At this point, we randomly selected 23 general hospitals for a large scale epidemiological investigation on the prevalence of anxiety disorders of internal medicine departments in Shenyang. Improving the diagnosis and treatment situations by the data of this research.MethodsThe 96 general hospitals in the Shenyang municipality were selected using a random number table. This resulted in 23 target hospitals: ten primary, seven secondary, and six tertiary hospitals. It was calculated the required sample be 5,000 subjects, this was according to the sample formula. It was increased by 15% to account for refusals. The total target sample was 5,750 internal medicine outpatients, 990 from primary general hospitals, 2,056 from secondary hospitals and 2,704 from tertiary hospitals. An expanded Chinese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was administered by a trained interviewer. The subject was classified as high-risk, moderate-risk or low-risk for mental disorder based on the result. Subsequently, all high-risk subjects, 40% of moderate-risk subjects and 10% of low-risk subjects were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders (SCID). Looking at the internist diagnosis on the patient's chart. ResultsThe prevalence of any anxiety disorders was 5.4%(95%CI: 4.8%-6.1%), and Panic disorder 0.13%(95%CI: 0.06%-0.28%), Social anxiety disorder 0.04%(95%CI: 0.01%-0.17%), Specific phobia 0.23%(95%CI: 0.13%-0.42%), Obsessive compulsive disorder 0.09%(95%CI: 0.03%-0.23%), Posttraumatic stress disorder 0.02%(95% CI: 0.003%-0.15%), Generalized anxiety disorder 1.51% (95%CI: 1.20%-1.90%), Not otherwise specified anxiety disorder 2.91% (95% CI: 2.45%-3.45%), Anxiety disorder due to a general medication 0.47% (95% CI: 0.31%- 0.71%). Prevalence of any anxiety disorders in females is 5.8%(95%CI: 5.0-6.8) a little higher than it in males 4.7% (95%CI: 3.8-5.8) ,RR=1.25(95%CI: 0.96-1.62).The total recognition rate of anxiety disorder was 5.2%(95% CI: 2.5%-7.9%), only 10 (4.3%)of all anxiety patients were provided with drugs.ConclusionThe prevalence of anxiety disorders among internal medicine outpatients in Shenyang is lower than that reported in most Developed Countries even though the rate recognition is much lower in Shenyang .Patient visiting rates need to be increased urgently as does the treatment of anxiety disorders due to the prevalence and the rates of recognition in Shenyang.