OBJECTIVETo describe the prevalence of depressive and/or anxiety symptoms in patients with some neurological diseases in the general hospitals of major cities in China.

METHODSA hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in four big cities in China in 2004. 1197 eligible subjects with Stroke, Parkinson's disease and Epilepsy were recruited from the outpatient or inpatient departments within three months. Face-to-face interview was used in data collection together with the self-completed Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale for depressive and/or anxiety symptom, were screened. Subjects getting a HAD score of 9 and above were further assessed for depressive and/or anxiety disorders with Hamilton anxiety scales and Hamilton depression scales by the licensed psychologists or psychiatrists.

RESULTSThe prevalence rates of "self-scaled" depressive and/or anxiety symptoms were 19.5%, 24.1% and 21.9% respectively in patients with stroke, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. Among cases with "self-scaled" depressive and/or anxiety symptoms, the prevalence rates of depressive and/or anxiety symptoms were 50.8%, 73.1% and 38.6% respectively; less than 17% of subjects had obtained a diagnosis of depressive disorders and had been treated but only 4% of the subjects having obtained a diagnosis of anxiety disorders and been treated prior to the study. The sex specific prevalence varied over the somatic diseases. In patients with Parkinson's disease, the prevalence of "self-scaled" anxiety symptom was significantly higher in females than in males (21.1% vs. 12.2%; chi2 = 5. 679, P = 0.017),and the total prevalence of "self-scaled" depressive and/or anxiety symptoms was also higher in female (30.3% vs. 20.5%; chi2 = 4.978, P = 0.026); in patients with stroke while the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in female was higher than that in male (52.2% vs. 20.0%; chi2 = 6.009, P = 0.014), and a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in female patients with epilepsy was also reported (32.4% vs. 13.6%; chi2 = 4.108, P = 0.043).

CONCLUSIONIt was of great importance to remind the healthcare providers and health policy makers that high prevalence of depressive and/or anxiety symptoms was found in patients with somatic diseases but with low percentages of previous diagnosis or treatment in the departments of neurology at the general hospitals in urban China.