Comorbilidad en personas con depresión que consultan en centros de la atención primaria de salud en Santiago, Chile

• Pablo Martínez ^[1] ; Graciela Rojas ^[1] ; Rosemarie Fritsch ^[1] ; Vania Martínez ^[2] ; Paul A Vöhringer ^[1] ; Ariel Castro ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Chile

     Universidad de Chile

     Santiago, Chile

     
  2. [2] Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad
• Localización: Revista Médica de Chile, ISSN-e 0034-9887, Vol. 145, Nº. 1, 2017, págs. 25-32
• Idioma: español
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Comorbidity in people with depression seeking help at primary health care centers in Santiago, Chile
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • Background: International evidence has shown the complex interaction between depression and chronic physical diseases. Depression in scenarios involving multiple comorbidities has not received enough attention in Chile. Aim: To characterize the depressed people who consult at Primary Health Care Centers (PHCCs), taking into account the presence of chronic physical or psychiatric comorbidity. Materials and Methods: A secondary analysis of databases used in a clinical trial. Two hundred fifty six adults seeking professional help were recruited in four PHCCs located in the Metropolitan Region. These people had a major depressive episode, identified with a structured psychiatric interview (MINI), and gave their informed consent to participate. Socio-demographic information was collected, depressive symptomatology was measured with the patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), psychiatric morbidity was assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), and chronic physical diseases were self-reported by the patients. Descriptive analyses of all the variables were conducted. Results: Seventy percent of patients had a history of depression, with a median of two prior depressive episodes. Depressive symptoms were mostly considered as moderate to severe and severe and 31% of the patients had high suicide risk. Seventy eight percent displayed a physical or psychiatric comorbidity. Of these patients, 29% only had a chronic physical comorbidity, while 46% suffered from an additional psychiatric disorder. Conclusions: Depressed individuals who seek help at PHCCs constitute an especially complex population that must be treated taking into account multiple comorbidities.