Depression often Misdiagnosed

Physicians around the world seem to have difficulty telling who is depressed and who is not, as reported by Alex J. Mitchell, MRCPsych. from Leicester General Hospital, UK, in his meta-analysis study. The report also shows that general practitioners (GPs) correctly identify depression in 47.3% of cases.

The GPs in urban practice encounter 20 true cases of depression in 100 patients. They correctly diagnosed 10 cases, missed 10 cases and incorrectly diagnose 15 non-depressed patients with depression (false-positive rate about 20%).

In rural practice, the GPs encounter 10 true cases of depression in 100 patients, they correctly diagnosed 5 cases and misdiagnosed 17 non-depressed patients with depression (false-positive rate about 17%).

Dr. Mitchell also reports that the Netherlands and Italy's GPs have the most diagnostic accuracy compared to the UK and US's GPs.

Reference:

• Medscape