@article{ref1,
title="Comorbidity in people with depression seeking help at primary health care centers in Santiago, Chile",
journal="Revista Medica de Chile",
year="2017",
author="Martínez, Pablo and Rojas, Graciela and Fritsch, Rosemarie and Martínez, Vania and Vöhringer, Paul A. and Castro, Ariel",
volume="145",
number="1",
pages="25-32",
abstract="BACKGROUND: International evidence has shown the complex interaction between depression and chronic physical diseases. Depression in scenarios involving multiple comorbidities has not received enough attention in Chile. <br><br>AIM: To characterize the depressed people who consult at Primary Health Care Centers (PHCCs), taking into account the presence of chronic physical or psychiatric comorbidity. <br><br>MATERIALS AND METHODS: A secondary analysis of databases used in a clinical trial. Two hundred fifty six adults seeking professional help were recruited in four PHCCs located in the Metropolitan Region. These people had a major depressive episode, identified with a structured psychiatric interview (MINI), and gave their informed consent to participate. Socio-demographic information was collected, depressive symptomatology was measured with the patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), psychiatric morbidity was assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), and chronic physical diseases were self-reported by the patients. Descriptive analyses of all the variables were conducted. <br><br>RESULTS: Seventy percent of patients had a history of depression, with a median of two prior depressive episodes. Depressive symptoms were mostly considered as moderate to severe and severe and 31% of the patients had high suicide risk. Seventy eight percent displayed a physical or psychiatric comorbidity. Of these patients, 29% only had a chronic physical comorbidity, while 46% suffered from an additional psychiatric disorder. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Depressed individuals who seek help at PHCCs constitute an especially complex population that must be treated taking into account multiple comorbidities.<p /> <p>Language: es</p>",
language="es",
issn="0034-9887",
doi="10.4067/S0034-98872017000100004",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0034-98872017000100004"
}