Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidity In The Primary Health Clinic Attendees In Kuwait

To estimate the prevalence of the comorbidity between common mental disorders (anxiety/depression/somatization) and common chronic physical illnesses among primary health care attendees and explore the relationship of comorbidity with the type of illness and socio-demographic characteristics.The Physical Health Questionnaires (PHQ-SADs) were directed to a randomized example of 1046 essential center participants in all the five governorates of the nation over a 5-month time frame. Physical diagnoses were ascertained by the attending physicians based on ICD-10 criteria.Of 1046 respondents, 442 (42.25%) had no less than one mental issue, while 670 (64.1%) had a physical ailment determination, viz: diabetes mellitus (37.01%), hypertension (34.18%), heart infections (7.2%) and non-chronic physical illnesses (9.4%). Physical comorbidity was significantly associated with older age, divorce, illiteracy, and poorer living conditions.34.4% (360/1046) had physical-mental comorbidity while 53.7% (670) % had physical-mental comorbidity; and of 376 without physical disease, 82 (21.8%) had no less than one mental issue (OR = 4.1, P < 0.001). The commonest comorbid mental disorders were somatization and the simultaneous presence of all 3 mental disorders. There was an increase in the prevalence of mental disorders with an increase in the number of physical illnesses, and increase in psychopathology scores with a number of physical comorbidities. Subjects with heart diseases and asthma consistently had higher psychopathology scores.

Author(s): Dr. Mohammad Ajmal Zahid, Kuwait Univercity

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