Objective: To investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and to analyse the relationship between anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms in outpatients in general hospitals. Methods: By way of a cross sectional survey, 1842 outpatients from 15 general hospitals in Guangzhou, China, were tested with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15). Results: The prevalence rates of anxiety and/or depressive symptoms were 14.0%, 17.8%, 10.2% respectively in outpatients in Guangzhou. Significant correction was observed between HADS and PHQ -15 scores (r 0.374 -0.481, P<0.01). Compared with patients with minimal somatic symptom severity(PHQ-15 scores=0-4), the Relative Risk (RR)(95%CI) for anxiety and/or depression in patients with low PHQ-15 scores(5-9) were 2.90(1.94-4.33), 2.80(1.98-3.96), 2.37(1.52-3.68) respectively; in patients with medium PHQ- 15 scores(10-14) were 8.32(5.40-12.81), 8.11(5.53-11.89), 6.98(4.38-11.13) respectively; in patients with high PHQ-15 scores(15-30) were 23.05(12.72-41.77), 18.12(10.26-32.03), 9.86(5.18-18.77) respectively. Conclusion: There is high prevalence of anxiety and/or depression in outpatients in general hospitals. Also significant correlation was observed between anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms.
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