[Psychiatric symptoms in general medical hospital units--assessment of the need for psychiatric consultation-liaison in Hungary].

AIM: Psychiatric symptoms and disorders are a serious problem area, absorbing high health service provision capacities. Extensive research work is done internationally relating to the morbidity of psychiatric disorders in general medical departments, but no Hungarian data have been available so far. In the present study, general psychiatric symptoms were detected in Hungarian general hospitals, with special regard to mood disorders. METHODS: A self-assessment-based questionnaire survey was performed, covering 2,444 patients treated in general medical departments. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. The use of anti-depressants was also checked. RESULTS: On the basis of the questionnaire screening, 46.6% of patients showed a pathological score. Depressive symptoms were found primarily in the departments of chronic diseases. The use of antidepressants showed a very low frequency, in spite of the high prevalence of depressive symptoms. The use of anxiolytics was relatively high in depressive states. CONCLUSION: The high frequency of mood disorders is not surprising in somatic medicine, but it is mainly found among chronic patients. However, their adequate pharmacotherapy is insufficient. On the basis of these data, the improvement of the consultation-liaison psychiatry is needed.