Depression in Primary Care, 2010-2018. Am J Med 2022 Dec;135(12):1505-1508
Date
07/26/2022Pubmed ID
35878693DOI
10.1016/j.amjmed.2022.06.022Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85136158084 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 6 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: Depression is common in primary care and significantly reduces quality of life. Our study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression in primary care visits, examine patterns of depression treatment and referral, and determine how often depression screening occurred over an 8-year timespan.
METHODS: From the 2010-2018 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a national probability sample of non-federal, ambulatory encounters, we identified adults being seen in a primary care clinic. We assessed the prevalence of depression screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
RESULTS: During these 8 years, 13.1% of primary care encounters involved a patient with a diagnosis of depression. The prevalence of depression did not change over time. Patients were screened for depression 4.1% of the time, with screening increasing over time. Depression was more likely to be diagnosed when screening occurred (odds ratio 9.9; 95% confidence interval, 6.8-14.5%). Most patients were treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.
CONCLUSION: Depression is common in primary care, though screening was infrequent. Practices should consider instituting universal screening.
Author List
Jackson JL, Kuriyama A, Bernstein J, Demchuk CAuthors
Joanne Bernstein MD Director, Associate Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinCarley Demchuk MD Assistant Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Jeffrey L. Jackson MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAmbulatory Care
Depression
Health Care Surveys
Humans
Mass Screening
Primary Health Care
Quality of Life
