Depression

Number of patients consulting

The graph below shows the estimated number of patients in Scotland (per 1,000 registered with a practice) who consulted either a GP or practice-employed nurse for depression and other affective disorders at least once in the year ending 31 March 2009, by gender and age group. As expected on the basis of other evidence¹, the rates were higher for females than for males in all age groups. The total numbers of females estimated to consult for depression annually were more than double the estimate for males.

All estimates are standardised by deprivation to account for any differences between the PTI sample population and the Scottish practice population in levels of deprivation. These figures and comparable figures for 2003/04 to 2007/08 are also provided in tabular format in an Excel document  (86KB), which also contains 95% confidence intervals for all estimates. Fairly wide confidence intervals reflect limited precision of the estimate, and can be expected when variation between practices is large and when the estimate is based on relatively small numbers (for example in the youngest age group).

Depression² - estimated number of patients in Scotland consulting a GP or practice nurse at least once in the financial year 2008/09 ^{3, 4} per 1,000 patients registered
by gender and age group

¹ National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Clinical Guideline 23. Depression: management of depression in primary and secondary care. NICE, London, 2004
² Based on ISD's Read Code Grouping (RCG) 'Depression and other affective disorders'.
³ Based on 58 PTI practices that submitted complete GP and practice nurse data for the year ending 31 March 2009. Rates are standardised by deprivation.
⁴ Population source: Community Health Index (CHI) record, as at 30 September 2008.

Note: Due to slightly updated rules determining what records describe a face-to-face contact and what records should be considered as administration, which were applied retrospectively, figures shown here are not strictly comparable to these provided prior to 30 March 2010.  See the Note of Revisions for further information.

Source: Practice Team Information (PTI), ISD Scotland (last updated 30 March 2010)

Number of consultations

The chart below shows the estimated numbers of consultations in Scotland for depression for the six financial years 2003/04 to 2008/09, by staff discipline. It is clear from the chart that the vast majority of consultations for depression were with a GP and that the proportions involving the other disciplines were relatively small.

The total numbers of consultations where depression was coded as a reason for consultation have decreased considerably over the last six years, although the reduction is not as marked in the last year. The decline is likely mainly a result of clinicians having become more precise in their coding. Previously, patients with depression-like symptoms may have been given a code referring to diagnosed depression, whereas now they may use a more general code for a psychological symptom or sign and not use a depression code until the diagnosis has been confirmed. The inclusion in 2006/07 of depression as a condition monitored through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)  of the new GP contract, with its associated rules around coding depression, may have had a particular impact, particularly in relation to the relatively larger drop in depression codes used in consultation data between 2005/06 and 2006/07. 

All estimates are standardised by age, gender and deprivation to account for any differences in these characteristics between the PTI sample population and the Scottish practice population. These figures are provided in tabular format in an Excel document   (21KB), which includes 95% confidence intervals for all estimates.

Depression ¹ - estimated number of consultations with a GP or practice-employed nurse in Scotland in the financial years 2003/04 to 2008/09 ^{2, 3}
by staff discipline

* Health visitor and district nurse data are not available from the financial year 2006/07 onwards.
¹ Based on ISD's Read Code Grouping (RCG) 'Depression and other affective disorders'.
² Based on 59, 53, 51, 49, 48 and 58 PTI practices that submitted complete data for the years ending 31 March 2004 to 2009, respectively. Figures are standardised by age, gender and deprivation.
³ Population source: Community Health Index (CHI) record, as at 30 September 2003 to 2008.

Note: Due to slightly updated rules determining what records describe a face-to-face contact and what records should be considered as administration, which were applied retrospectively, figures shown here are not strictly comparable to these provided prior to 30 March 2010. See the Note of Revisions for further information.

Source: Practice Team Information (PTI), ISD Scotland (last updated 30 March 2010)