Health service utilization in patients with major depression and co-morbid pain.

Abstract

AIMS: Patients with depression often have co-morbid pain symptoms. However, rates of service utilization by psychiatric in-patients with co-morbid pain symptoms are unknown. The purpose of this study is to estimate whether patients with major depression and co-morbid pain access medical treatment for their pain as much as their counterparts with psychiatric diagnoses other than major depression. METHODS: A total of 103 patients (62 female; 41 male) were assessed for a diagnosis of major depression applying a psychiatric clinical interview followed by a self-report pain questionnaire, which assessed physical pain in psychiatric patients. RESULTS: Patients with major depression reported higher..