ABSTRACT
Objective:Describe the prevalence of depressive disorder and the care-seeking of depressed individuals among inpatients in general hospitals in Beijing.Methods:2 925 inpatients ≥15 years of age from 40 general hospitals (selected by stratified random sampling) were first screened by psychiatric nurses and then psychiatrists used DSM-IV criteria to generate a 'gold standard' diagnosis in subjects screened positive and 10% of those screened negative. Results:Adjusted point prevalence, one-year prevalence, and lifetime prevalence of any type of depressive disorder were 7.04%, 7.47% and 9.96%, respectively; corresponding prevalences of Major Depressive Disorder were 3.83%, 4.33%, and 6.11%, respectively. Of the 123 depressed patients only 12 (9.8%) had ever received treatment. The prevalence was significantly higher in females than in males(5.18%vs 3.59%,RR=1.44 95%CI:1.01~2.05), in patients from Level-2 hospitals than in those from Level-3 hospitals(6.28%vs 3.31%,RR=1.90 95%CI:1.31~2.75), and in patients on internal medicine wards than in those from surgery (6.08%vs3.60%,RR=1.69 95%CI:1.15~2.49)or other wards(6.08%vs 3.01%,RR=2.02 95%CI:1.21~3.37).Conclusions:The prevalence of depressive disorder among inpatients in Beijing's general hospitals is high but very few are diagnosed or treated. Different programs to increase the recognition and treatment of depression in general hospitals need to be developed and regularly monitored.