Abstract summary 

Patients with a psychiatric illness have a higher prevalence of physical diseases and thus a higher morbidity and mortality.The main aim was to investigate where patients with co-occurring physical diseases and mental disorders (psychotic spectrum or mood) in the health and social service system are identified most frequently before admission into psychiatry. The second aim was to compare the differences in the treatment routes taken by the patients before entry into psychiatric services in all the participating countries (Denmark, Germany, Japan, Nigeria and Switzerland).On admission to a psychiatric service, patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizotypal or delusional disorders (International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) group F2) or mood (affective) disorders (ICD-10 group F3) and a co-morbid physical condition (cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and overweight) were asked with which institutions or persons they had been in contact with in the previous 6 months.Patients from Denmark, Germany and Switzerland with mental disorders had almost the same contact pattern. Their primary contact was to public or private psychiatry, with a contact percentage of 46%-91%; in addition, general practice was a common contact, with a margin of 41%-93%. Similar tendencies are seen in Japan despite the small sample size. With regard to general practice, this is also the case with Nigerian patients. However, religious guidance or healing was rarely sought by patients in Europe and Japan, while in Nigeria about 80% of patients with mental disorders had contacted this type of service.Promoting prophylactic work between psychiatry and the general practice sector may be beneficial in diminishing physical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and overweight in patients with mental disorders in European countries and Japan. In Nigeria (a low-to-middle-income country), religious guides or healers, along with general practitioners, are the most frequently contacted, and they therefore seem to be the most obvious partner to collaborate with.

Authors & Co-authors:  Toftegaard Kristian L KL Gustafsson Lea Nørgreen LN Uwakwe Richard R Andersen Ulla A UA Becker Thomas T Bickel Graziella Giacometti GG Bork Bernhard B Cordes Joachim J Frasch Karel K Jacobsen Bent Ascanius BA Kilian Reinhold R Larsen Jens Ivar JI Lauber Christoph C Mogensen Birthe B Rössler Wulf W Tsuchiya Kenji J KJ Munk-Jørgensen Povl P

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source