Mood disorder screening among adult emergency department patients: a multicenter study of prevalence, associations and interest in treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Planning for emergency department (ED)-initiated interventions for mood disorders requires confirmation of prevalence data, identification of predictors, and an assessment of patient interest in such interventions.
METHOD: For two 24-h periods, consecutive patients aged 18+ years presenting to four Boston EDs were enrolled. We collected data on demographics, medical history, psychiatric history, healthcare utilization, depressive symptoms, manic symptoms and interest in hypothetical ED-initiated interventions. Patients with severe illness, altered mental status or severe emotional disturbance were excluded.
RESULTS: Of 476 screened patients, 152 (32%; 95% CI, 28-36%) screened positive for depression and 17 (4%; 95% CI, 2-6%) for mania. Depressed patients were more likely than nondepressed patients (all P<.01) to have income <20,000/year (43% vs. 25%), a substance abuse history (19% vs. 5%), a chronic medical condition (67% vs. 53%), use tobacco (42% vs. 22%), have at least one ED visit in the past 6 months (76% vs. 56%) and have at least one hospitalization for substance abuse in the past 6 months (5% vs. 1%). About 50% of patients who screened positive for any mood disorder were interested in at least one ED-based intervention.
CONCLUSION: ED patients screening positive for mood disorder symptoms are likely to have complex psychiatric, medical and social histories, which will be necessary to take into account when designing ED-initiated interventions.