Principal and Additional DSM-IV Disorders for Which Outpatients Seek Treatment

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiological studies indicate that most patients in the community do not get treatment for psychiatric disorders. It is unknown whether persons who present for outpatient psychiatric services seek treatment for all the disorders they have or only for the principal disorder for which they are seeking treatment. The goal of this study was to determine which axis I psychiatric disorders motivate patients to seek treatment. METHODS: Four hundred outpatients at a hospital-affiliated, community-based, psychiatric clinical practice were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). For patients with more than one disorder, the diagnoses were assigned as principal or additional according to the DSM-IV convention of whether it was the patient's stated primary reason for presenting for treatment or was an additional disorder. For all current disorders, patients were asked whether the symptoms of each diagnosed disorder were a reason, or one of the reasons, for seeking treatment. RESULTS: Nearly all patients with major depression wanted treatment for this disorder, and more than 85 percent of patients with panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder indicated that the symptoms of these disorders were a reason for seeking treatment. Half to two-thirds of patients with social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and substance use disorders reported that the symptoms of these disorders were a reason for seeking treatment. Only 30 percent of those with specific phobia indicated that their phobic fears were a reason for seeking treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients often seek treatment for symptoms of disorders that are diagnosed as comorbid, rather than principal, conditions. It is important for clinicians to conduct thorough diagnostic interviews in order to diagnose disorders that are not related to the patient's chief complaint, as patients often desire treatment for these additional diagnoses.