What people say about their general practitioners' treatment of anxiety and depression

Objective: To determine from self-report how often people with anxiety and depressive disorders consult GPs and what treatment they receive. Design: The study was derived from the 1997 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. A probability sample of adults was interviewed to determine how many had which mental disorders, how disabled they were by those disorders, and what treatment they had received. Participants: 10641 adults, a 78% response rate. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders and related disability; frequency of consultations for a mental problem; treatment received. Results: 13.6% of the population both met criteria for an anxiety or depressive disorder in the 12 months before the survey and, when they suffered from more than one disorder, nominated this as their principal complaint. They reported some disability in 7 of the previous 28 days, and consulted a GP or other health professional 1.4 times in that period. Over half did not seek a consultation for a mental health problem at any time during the year, many because they thought they; had no need. Conclusion Many people who could benefit from treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders are not being reached. If people were registered with a general practice it would be possible for GPs to take a proactive stance that could result in greater benefit to patients at a lower cast to the health system.