In:
Psychological Medicine, Cambridge University Press (CUP), Vol. 28, No. 1 ( 1998-01), p. 127-134
Abstract:
Background. To assess the prevalence of delusional ideas
in primary-care patients. Method. A survey was carried out with the Aquitaine Sentinel Network of general practitioners
(GPs). Consecutive practice attenders were invited to complete the Peters et al . Delusional
Inventory (PDI-21) self-report questionnaire, designed to measure delusional ideation in the normal
population. GPs, blind to the questionnaire results, provided information on patients' psychiatric history. Results. Of the 1053 attenders included in the survey, 348 (35%) had a lifetime history of psychiatric
disorder, of whom 20 (2%) had a history of broadly defined psychotic disorder. The self-report
questionnaire was completed by 790 patients. The range of individual PDI-21 item endorsement in
subjects with no psychiatric history varied between 5 and 70%, suggesting that delusional ideation
is a dimensional phenomenon lying on a continuum with normality. The main discriminative items
between psychotic and non-psychotic patients were those exploring persecutory (OR=15·2, 95%
CI 4·3–53·7), mystic (OR=6·4, 95% CI 1·9–22·4) and guilt
(OR=5·8, 95% CI 1·5–23·2) ideas. Conclusions. This survey demonstrates that questions that
explore delusions and hallucinations are well-accepted by most primary-care patients. More research is needed
on psychotic disorders in primary-care settings to improving early identification of these disorders.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0033-2917
,
1469-8978
DOI:
10.1017/S0033291797005667
Language:
English
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publication Date:
1998
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1470300-2
SSG:
5,2
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