[The reason for medical consultations in patients with psychiatric diseases: somatization phenomena and suicide attempts].

BACKGROUND: The objectives of the study are to document the frequency of use of the general medical services by psychiatric patients, to measure how many consultations are due to somatization and suicide attempts and to know the existence of possible differences between psychiatric inpatients and outpatients in relation to the reason of medical consultation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Design: retrospective study. Site: Manchester Royal Infirmary, a university third level hospital in Manchester (United Kingdom). Patients: patients from the psychiatric department seen during the period from July 1st to December 31st in 1992 (n = 1,012 patients). RESULTS: The percentage of patients that consults a medical/surgical department in one year is 27.5%, 25.2% of outpatients and 36.3% of inpatients. Non-medical reasons are 42.3% of these consultations: 30.4% somatization phenomena and 10.8% suicide attempts. The frequency of somatization in psychiatric patients (30.4%) is similar to that described in non-psychiatric patients. The psychiatric inpatients that are referred to a medical department as inpatients show a significant lower rate of somatization (2.2%) and a higher rate of suicide (35.5%). CONCLUSIONS: On fourth of psychiatric patients consult a medical department in one year and more than 40% of these consultations are not due to somatic diseases. The frequency of somatization in psychiatric patients is similar to the observed in other patients. Psychiatric inpatients that are also medical inpatients in one year constitute a specific high risk group. Language: es