Treatment and prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder and depression among primary care attendees

The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder and depression and their treatment in a cross national sample of primary care patients. Four primary health care facilities in four Governorates, in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Design: Clinical Survey. Four primary health care facilities in four Governorates participated in one stage screening process to identify prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder and depression. Structured diagnostic interviews among 300 consecutive attendees in one day was used. The Mini International Neuro psychiatric Investigation [MINI] was used as screening tool. The association of depression and anxiety with factors such as age, sex, education and employment were evaluated. Generalized anxiety disorders prevalence rate was 52 [17.3], life time depression was 58 [19.3%] and current depression was 17 [5.6%]. Only 22 [7.3%] of the sample had either anxiety or depression in the past, of whom 41% received treatment. None of the examined factors was significantly linked to anxiety or depression. This study shows that generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive episode are very common among primary care attendees. Thus, primary care physicians should be alerted of this fact. A multifaceted program should be adopted for the detection and management of GAD and depression

Cancer incidence among the Bahrain population: a five-year [1998-2002] experience

Cancer is the second leading cause of death, following cardiovascular diseases, accounting for 12% of annually reported deaths in Bahrain. We determined the epidemiological patterns of malignancies in Bahrain and compared them with those of other Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] countries and other developed countries. Data for the study were obtained from the Bahrain Cancer Registry [BCR] database. The overall and type-specific 5-year average incidence rates were calculated for the years 1998-2002 and derived using the CANREG software formula. The incidence rates for the year 2000 were used for comparing Bahrain with those of other countries in the Arabian Gulf using the statistics of the Gulf Centre for Cancer Registration. During the 5-year period there were 2405 cancer cases in Bahrain [1239 males and 1166 females], with an annual average of 481 cases. The world age-standardized incidence rates [ASR] were 162.3 and 145.2 per 100000 for Bahraini males and females, respectively. Generally, Bahrain men had a higher ASR for most cancer types, and the most common type of cancer was lung for males [35.2 per 100000], followed by bladder [14.5] and prostate [14.3], and breast for females [46.8], followed by lung [12.2] and ovary [7.7]. Compared to other Gulf countries, Bahrain had higher incidence rates for cancers of the lung, prostate, colorectum, bladder, kidney, pancreas and leukemia among males and for cancers of the breast, lung, bladder, thyroid, uterus and ovary among females. A rising trend in cancer incidence is likely to continue for years or even decades to come

Cancer incidence among the Bahraini population: a five-year [1998-2002] experience

Cancer is the second leading cause of death, following cardiovascular diseases, accounting for 12% of annually reported deaths in Bahrain. We determined the epidemiological patterns of malignancies in Bahrain and compared them with those of other Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] countries and other developed countries. Data for the study were obtained from the Bahrain Cancer Registry [BCR] database. The overall and type-specific 5-year average incidence rates were calculated for the years 1998-2002 and derived using the CANREG software formula. The incidence rates for the year 2000 were used for comparing Bahrain with those of other countries in the Arabian Gulf using the statistics of the Gulf Centre for Cancer Registration. During the 5-year period there were 2405 cancer cases in Bahrain [1239 males and 1166 females], with an annual average of 481 cases. The world age-standardized incidence rates [ASR] were 162.3 and 145.2 per 100 000 for Bahraini males and females, respectively. Generally, Bahraini men had a higher ASR for most cancer types, and the most common type of cancer was lung for males [35.2 per 100 000], followed by bladder [14.5] and prostate [14.3], and breast for females [46.8], followed by lung [12.2] and ovary [7.7]. Compared to other Gulf countries, Bahrain had higher incidence rates for cancers of the lung, prostate, colorectum, bladder, kidney, pancreas and leukemia among males and for cancers of the breast, lung, bladder, thyroid, uterus and ovary among females. A rising trend in cancer incidence is likely to continue for years or even decades to come

Patient satisfaction in adult psychiatric outpatient clinics

There is a growing interest in the measurement of patient satisfaction as a source for improving the health of population globally but not regionally. The purpose of this study was to describe patient satisfaction among outpatients attending the general adult psychiatric clinics, Bahrain. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 300 outpatients between June and October 2000. The results of the study showed that the overall patient satisfaction was high. The highest satisfaction was in areas related to relationships with staff and lowest with psycho education, physical environment items such as parking, toilets and waiting area. In conclusion, despite the high degree of satisfaction for the care delivered in the outpatient clinics, providing information and responding to patient needs were a source of dissatisfaction specially by the more educated and those who received a neurotic type of diagnosis. In the future, attention should be paid to improve ways of psycho education in order to further enhance patient satisfaction