Psychiatric morbidity in medically ill patients by means of the Spanish version of the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool - Primary Care (GMHAT/PC)

ABSTRACTThis study aims at assessing psychiatric morbidity in medically ill patients, as well as examining the employability of the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool - Primary Care (GMHAT-PC) Spanish version in a general health setting. The participants in this study are recruited patients who were hospitalized at the services of Internal Medicine, Surgery and Gynaecology and Obstetrics for a period of one month. The diagnosis of a medical illness was supported by specialists in each service. Also, a trained general practitioner conducted a psychiatric assessment of all the participants making use of GMHAT-PC. It is worth noting that every single interview was carried out at the patient’s bedside. With regards to specific numbers, out of 455 medically ill patients, 4.8% had a mental illness identified by dint of the GMHAT-PC interview. Anxiety, depression and mental organic disorders were the most frequently identified mental disorders in internal medicine and surgery. On the other hand, cancer had a s...