Psychiatric morbidity in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B infection in a local infectious disease clinic.

OBJECTIVE. To determine the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity, identify correlates of psychiatric morbidities, and evaluate the effectiveness of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire as a screening tool for psychiatric morbidity in Chinese patients infected with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a local public specialist outpatient infectious disease clinic from October 2008 to June 2009, in which a total of 160 patients were randomly selected. Psychiatric diagnoses were established by using the Chinese-Bilingual Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (Axis I Disorders). Scores for the General Health Questionnaire were compared against the psychiatric diagnoses. RESULTS. Among 149 patients, the respective point prevalence of overall psychiatric disorders, depressive disorders, and anxiety disorders was 32%, 16%, and 14%. A family history of psychiatric disorder and absence of knowledge of mode of hepatitis B virus transmission were identified as being associated with current psychiatric disorders, current depressive disorders, and current anxiety disorders. Absence of a confidant was an independent factor for current depressive disorders and use of herbal medicine in the previous month was an independent factor for current anxiety disorders. CONCLUSIONS. Psychiatric disorders are common in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B. Identifying associated factors and using the General Health Questionnaire as a screening tool are useful for identifying patients with psychiatric disorders in an infectious disease clinic.