Projects / Programmes
Assessment of acceptability of a multi-factorial risk scale for depression in family medicine
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 3.08.00 |
Medical sciences |
Public health (occupational safety) |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B680 |
Biomedical sciences |
Public health, epidemiology |
Depression, family medicine, predictive value
Researchers (10)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
02058 |
Tatjana Berger |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 2. |
18329 |
PhD Josip Car |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Head |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 3. |
10458 |
PhD Borut Peterlin |
Human reproduction |
Researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 4. |
24488 |
PhD Janez Rifel |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Junior researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 5. |
18328 |
PhD Danica Rotar Pavlič |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Researcher |
2008 - 2010 |
0 |
| 6. |
33119 |
Barbara Rugelj |
Human reproduction |
Technical associate |
2010 - 2011 |
0 |
| 7. |
10937 |
PhD Polona Selič - Zupančič |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
| 8. |
11867 |
PhD Igor Švab |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Researcher |
2008 - 2010 |
0 |
| 9. |
26220 |
Barbara Toplek |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Researcher |
2008 - 2010 |
0 |
| 10. |
05379 |
PhD Bojan Zalar |
Medical sciences |
Researcher |
2008 - 2011 |
0 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
In the project we are going to analyse results of a prospective cohort study in which the sample consisted of general practice attenders from 60 practices. 1100 patients were sampled. The prevalence of depression has been estimated using the Depression Section of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), that has laready been validated in Slovenia.
We aim to 1) develop and validate a multi-factor risk score, for the use by GPs to predict the onset and maintenance of depression and 2) to explore the risk of the onset and maintenance of episodes of depression among primary care attenders. As at baseline, a depression diagnosis on CIDI will provide the principal measure of prevalence of depression at outcome, while the other questionnaires will assess principal risk factors for future onset and duration of depression.
Significance for science
Identified risk factors for the development of depression are used as the basis for revising the management of depression in the primary healthcare activity. Around 10% of people in Europe or 25% of those treated at the primary level suffer from depression. Better identification and assessment will improve the treatment of this disease and help reduce the burden of depression, including suicidality. In Slovenia, more than 30 persons per 100,000 inhabitants die each year. Depression is one of the most frequent psychiatric diseases which contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in the population. According to the forecasts depression will be the second most frequent disease in 2020 (following cardiovascular diseases) that will pester the global population. The results of the study are an upgrade of the existing knowledge of the researchers in the research team, expansion of the international project arising from verified scientific methods, and the co-operation with the internationally established experts in the field of depression and in the primary healthcare activity is the warranty that the identified risk factors for the occurrence of depression (chronic intestinal disease, incontinence, poor physical condition, death of a close relative, psychical or emotional problems of the father, discrimination based on appearance, physical abuse in childhood and drug- and alcohol-related problems in the family) will be relevant for Slovenia and for the international public.
Significance for the country
The results of our study will contribute to early identification of depression (secondary prevention) in family medicine. The risk factor model was produced prospectively, on a large representative sample.
The study has shown the pattern of multimorbidity on the representative sample of patient in family medicine (Table 8, ANNEX 2). Other factors also report significant multimorbidity (Fortin et al 2005, Vogeli et al 2007). It is known that patients with four or more chronic diseases are more likely (99-times) to need hospitalisation, which could nevertheless be avoided with adequate care in family medicine (Wolff et al 2002) and the results have shown (Table 7, ANNEX 2), that 19% of patients in the sample had been hospitalised on one or several occasions. It was established that depression and anxiety are present in around one quarter of visitors to family medicine practices (King et al 2008), which was also confirmed in the longitudinal follow-up of the sample (see page 7). Identification and treatment of depression and/or anxiety in the scope of family medicine is a great challenge for a family practitioner, since, according to the studies, around 60% of patients with depression and/or anxiety are not detected and consequently not treated in family medicine (Ani et al 2008). Other results in Slovenia show that family medicine practitioners actively and routinely search for patients with depression and anxiety in their patient population, focusing primarily on women, patients with lower level of education, widowed or divorced patients, those with chronic pains, cardiovascular and rheumatologic diseases, migraine (Klemenc-Ketiš et al 2010), and our study will contribute some additional risk factors for depression: chronic intestinal disease, incontinence, poor physical condition, death of a close relative, psychical or emotional problems of the father, discrimination based on appearance, physical abuse in childhood and drug- and alcohol-related problems in the family.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2008,
2009,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
