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Common mental disorders in primary health care: differences between Latin American-born and Spanish-born residents in Madrid, Spain

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Abstract

Purpose

Our main objective was to estimate and compare the prevalence of the most common mental disorders between Latin American-born and Spanish-born patients in Madrid, Spain. We also analyzed sociodemographic factors associated with these disorders and the role of the length of residency for Latin American-born patients.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional study to compare Latin American-born (n = 691) and Spanish-born outpatients (n = 903) from 15 primary health care centers in Madrid, Spain. The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders was used to diagnose common mental disorders. Sociodemographic, psychosocial, and migration data were collected.

Results

We detected common mental disorders in 49.9 % (95 % CI = 47.4–52.3 %) of the total sample. Values were higher in Latin American-born patients than in Spanish-born patients for any disorder (57.8 % vs. 43.9 %, p < 0.001), mood disorders (40.1 % vs. 34.8 %, p = 0.030), anxiety disorders (20.5 % vs. 15.3 %, p = 0.006), and somatoform disorders (18.1 % vs. 6.6 %, p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in prevalence between Latin American-born patients with less than 5 years of residency and Latin American-born residents with 5 or more years of residency. Finally, multivariate analysis shows that gender, having/not having children, monthly income, geographic origin, and social support were significantly associated with several disorders.

Limitations

The sample was neither population-based nor representative of the general immigrant or autochthonous populations.

Conclusions

The study provides further evidence of the high prevalence of common mental disorders in Latin American-born patients in Spain compared with Spanish-born patients.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Health and Immigration Group, who collaborated in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gerencia Adjunta de Planificación y Calidad, Atención Primaria, Servicio Madrileño de Salud, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel A. Salinero-Fort

  2. Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain

    Rodrigo Jiménez-García

  3. Servicio de Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario La Paz (IdiPAZ), Madrid, Spain

    Carmen de Burgos-Lunar

  4. Unidad de Medicina Interna, Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla, Madrid, Spain

    Rosa M. Chico-Moraleja

  5. Fundación de Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario La Paz-IdiPAZ, Madrid, Spain

    Paloma Gómez-Campelo

Authors
  1. Miguel A. Salinero-Fort
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  2. Rodrigo Jiménez-García
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  3. Carmen de Burgos-Lunar
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  4. Rosa M. Chico-Moraleja
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  5. Paloma Gómez-Campelo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miguel A. Salinero-Fort.

Additional information

On behalf of the Health and Immigration Group.

Members of the Health and Immigration Group is given in "Appendix".

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Supplementary material 1 (DOC 92 kb)

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Appendix

Appendix

Health and Immigration Group

L del Otero-Sanz, C Martín-Madrazo, R Sanz-Bucero, F Salvador-Silva, JC Abánades-Herranz, E Carrillo-de Santa Pau, E Irazabal-Martín, E Aguiló-Pastrana, M Medina-Fernández, MI Granados-Menéndez, E Bermúdez, C Pedraza-Moreno, M Jordán-Martín, B Ayuso-de la Torre, B Fernández-Herrero, I Amorox, C Antelo-Brioso, MJ García-Gil, M García-Santiago, R Bajo-Viña, R Gallego, H Valdivia-Altamirano.

Role of funding source

Funding for this study was provided by the Carlos III Institute of Health, which is part of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PI06/1407). The Carlos III Institute of Health had no further role in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Salinero-Fort, M.A., Jiménez-García, R., de Burgos-Lunar, C. et al. Common mental disorders in primary health care: differences between Latin American-born and Spanish-born residents in Madrid, Spain. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 50, 429–443 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0962-5

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