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Health status, resource consumption, and costs of dysthymic patients in Italian primary care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2011

Corrado Barbui ,
Livio Garattini ,
Iva Krulichova  and
Giovanni Apolone
Corrado Barbui
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry, “Mario Negri”Institute for Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy
Livio Garattini*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry, “Mario Negri”Institute for Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy
Iva Krulichova
Affiliation:
CESAV, Center for Health Economics, “Mario Negri”Institute for Pharmacological Research, Ranica (Bg), Italy
Giovanni Apolone
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Clinical Research, Oncology Dept., “Mario Negri”Institute for Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy
*
Address for correspondence: Dr. L. Garattini, CESAV, Center for Health Economics A.A. Valenti, Mario Negri Institute, c/o Villa Camozzi, via Camozzi 3, 24020 Ranica (Bergamo). Fax: +39-035-453.5372 E-mail: liviogarattini@tiscalinet.it
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Summary

Aims – To describe the health status, resource consumption and costs of patients with dysthymic disorder in the Italian primary care setting. Methods – A total of 79 general practitioners (GPs) participated the study. Diagnosis was based on each GP's clinical assessment. At entry the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used as a supporting diag- nostic aid. Health status was measured with the SF-36 questionnaire. Resource consumption and costs regarded the six months before enrolment. Results – Out of 598 patients enrolled by GPs according to their clinical assessment, 503 fulfilled the MINI cri- teria and 95 did not. The latter had a better perception of their health than the former. Resource consumption was similar in the two groups; and the total per patient six-month costs did not differ significantly. Conclusions – The study confirms there may be a gap between standardised criteria for defining dysthymia and everyday clinical practice. All dysthymic patients diagnosed by GPs might be considered together from a health policy perspective.

Declaration of Interest: this research was partly supported by a contribution from Sanofi-Synthelabo Italy.

Keywords

Dysthymiahealth statusresource consumptioncostItaly
Type
Original Papers
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , June 2004 , pp. 120 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

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