Reprinted from the German Journal of Psychiatry · http://www.gjpsy.uni-goettingen.de · ISSN 1433-1055 Mental Morbidity in Primary Care in Al Ain (UAE): Application of the Arabic Translation of the PRIME- MD (PHQ) Version Tewfik K. Daradkeh 1 , Valsamma Eapen 2 and Rafia Ghubash 2 1 Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid 22110, P.O. Box 3030, Jordan 2 Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UAE University, Al Ain, UAE Corresponding author: Tewfik K. Daradkeh, MD; FRCPsych; DPM, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid 22110, P.O. Box 3030, Jordan, E-mail: tdaradkh@just.edu.jo Abstract Objective : The study examined the nature and prevalence of mental disorders in primary care in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods : Cross-sectional survey of a consecutive sample of attenders (N = 571) to three primary health care facilities were recruited, using the PRIME-MD questionnaire.Results : Two hundred and ten (37.8%) subjects satisfied the DSM-IV primary care version for mental disorders. Depression was the common pres- entation (73.1%) of all subjects with mental disorders. There were no significant gender differences in the frequency of mental disorders, but the intensity of depressive and anxiety symptoms was significantly higher in female subjects. Sub- jects with mental disorders showed significantly more somatic symptoms than subjects without mental disorders and they were also more significantly exposed to stress. Psychosocial impairment was found in over two thirds of subjects with mental disorders. PHC physicians recognized less than 1% of subjects with mental disorders.Conclusions : Sub- jects with mental disorders are commonly seen in primary health care settings. Utilization of reliable and valid self- report diagnostic instruments is one of the options to help identify a troublesome mental morbidity in primary care set- tings (German J Psychiatry 2005;8:32-35). Keywords: Mental morbidity, Arabic PRIME-MD, cross-sectional survey Received: 21.1.2005 Published: 13.7.2005 Introduction ccurrence of mental disorders in primary care is of increasing interest, especially since they involve significantly impaired functioning, increased health care utilization and marked deterioration among the different domains of quality of life (Spitzer et el., 1995, Philbick et al., 1996). Mental disorders have been estimated to be present in at least 20% of primary care patients (Philbick et al., 1996, Spitzer et al., 1994), yet they seem to go undetected and untreated in 50-75% of the cases (Spitzer et al., 1999, Wil- liams et al., 1995). Psychiatric morbidity in primary care in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, has also been documented (el- Rufaie & Absood, 1993), utilizing the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) (Goldberg et al., 1970). The data from this study suggests that about 27.6% of patients attending pri- mary care facilities suffer from minor psychiatric morbidity. The results of similar studies suggest that common mental disorders form a substantial proportion of the morbidity seen in primary care. In order to improve their recognition, Spitzer and colleagues have designed a diagnostic instrument for the detection of the most commonly encountered mental disorders in primary care as well as in the general population. This instrument, called PRIME-MD, is a standardized and rapid procedure with demonstrated diagnostic performance (sensitivity of 83%, specificity of 88% and positive predictive value of 80%) for the diagnosis of any psychiatric disorder (Spitzer et al., 1994). Spitzer and colleagues converted PRIME-MD, which consists of two phases, one self-report and the other the clinician’s guide, to a Patient Health Ques- O