Faculty Collaboration Database

The value of screening for psychiatric disorders in rheumatology referrals. Arch Intern Med 1998 Nov 23;158(21):2357-62

Date

11/25/1998

Pubmed ID

9827787

DOI

10.1001/archinte.158.21.2357

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0032561697 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   45 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal complaints are common and often unexplained and often lead to rheumatology referrals. The prevalence of psychiatric disease in patients with musculoskeletal complaints is unknown.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of common psychiatric disorders among patients referred to a rheumatology clinic and the likelihood of establishing a rheumatic diagnosis if a psychiatric disorder is present.

DESIGN: Prospective diagnostic survey.

SETTING: Two hospital-based rheumatology clinics and a general medicine clinic.

PARTICIPANTS: A consecutive sample of newly referred patients (n = 185) and their rheumatologists (n = 9).

INTERVENTION: Before their visit, all patients filled out a self-administered version of PRIME-MD (Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders), a questionnaire that makes Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: Primary Care Version, diagnoses of depressive, anxiety, and somatoform disorders. After the visit, the study rheumatologists, who were unaware of the PRIME-MD results, completed a questionnaire regarding their diagnostic assessment. These patients were compared with 210 patients with musculoskeletal complaints who were cared for in a general medicine clinic.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychiatric and rheumatic disorders.

RESULTS: Compared with patients with musculoskeletal complaints in a general medicine clinic, patients referred to a rheumatology clinic had a higher prevalence of psychiatric disease (40% vs 29%; P = .008), had an almost 2-fold higher prevalence of anxiety disorders, and were more likely to have multiple psychiatric disorders (odds ratio = 2.70, 95% confidence interval = 1.50-5.00). The likelihood of a psychiatric disorder differed among patients with connective tissue disease, nonsystemic articular or periarticular disorders, and nonarticular disorders (27%, 38%, 55%, respectively; P = .006). In a best-fitting logistic regression model, psychiatric disorders markedly decreased the likelihood of a connective tissue disease (odds ratio = 0.24, 95% confidence interval = 0.09-0.62).

CONCLUSIONS: Forty percent of patients referred to a rheumatology clinic in this study had a psychiatric disorder, and its presence predicted a lower likelihood of a connective tissue disease. Prospective studies are needed to determine if screening for psychiatric disease before referring patients with unexplained musculoskeletal complaints would reduce costs or improve recognition of potentially treatable psychiatric disorders.

Author List

O'Malley PG, Jackson JL, Kroenke K, Yoon K, Hornstein E, Dennis GJ

Author

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

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety Disorders
Confidence Intervals
Connective Tissue Diseases
Depressive Disorder
Female
Humans
Joint Diseases
Logistic Models
Male
Mass Screening
Mental Disorders
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Odds Ratio
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Referral and Consultation
Rheumatic Diseases
Somatoform Disorders