RESUMO
Background: There is a 7 percent up to 32 percent prevalence of psychiatric problems in the pediatric population. Aim: To study the epidemiological features of children and adolescents attended in a psychiatric outpatient clinic. Material and methods: All admissions to a psychiatric outpatient clinic, of people aged 18 years old or less, during 1998, were reviewed. The causes of consultation and the diagnoses were classified according to diagnostic manuals (ICPC-WONCA and DSM-IV respectively), by three experienced psychiatrists. Results: The files of 376 patients were reviewed (200 males, mean age of females 12 years old, mean age of males 10.5 years old). Seventy three percent consulted spontaneously. The main causes of consultation were anxiety disorders and adolescence problems (28 percent). The main diagnoses were attention deficit disorder and disruptive behavior, adaptative problems, mood and anxiety disorders. There were gender differences in the diagnoses. Women attended a mean of 6.3 sessions and men attended a mean of 4 sessions. Fifty nine percent abandoned treatment. Conclusions: There is a limited access to mental health care. The low compliance with treatments must be studied and improved