ISSN:
1433-9285
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary Ninety consecutive patients aged 14 and above attending a general practice in Verona completed the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), were assessed by the general practitioner for the presence of psychiatric disturbances on a 5 point scale, and interviewed by a psychiatrist using the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS). The Italian versions of both the GHQ and the CIS were confirmed as feasible instruments for general practice studies in Italy. Taking the Overall Severity Rating made by the psychiatrist (Psy-OSR) at the end of the CIS as the criterion, the best CIS threshold in discriminating between “cases” and “non cases” was 12/13, while the GHQ cut off point of 5/6 gave the best results in terms of balance between sensitivity (81%) and specificity (71%). According to this cutting score, 47.8% of patients were high scorers. The corresponding figures of sensitivity and specificity for a GHQ cut off 4/5 were 89% and 65%. A comparison of the performance of the GHQ-30, GHQ-12 and C-GHQ (Goodchild and Duncan-Jones method of scoring), obtained in the usual way, as well as using ROC analysis showed that the C-GHQ gave the best overall results, but the difference was not significant. Using the Psy-OSR ≥2 or the CIS Total Weighted Score ≥13 as indicators, the prevalence of “true” cases in this sample was 35.5% and 38.8% respectively, a rate lower than that reported by Fontanesi et al. (1985) in another general practice study in Italy.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00584015
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