This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Women with physical illness more likely to seek mental health services

New data published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health suggest that women with chronic physical illness are more likely to seek mental health services than men.

“Chronic physical illness can lead to depression,” Flora I. Matheson, PhD, of the Centre for Research on Inner City Health at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, said in a press release. “We want to better understand who will seek mental health services when diagnosed with a chronic physical illness so we can best help those who need care.”

Flora I. Matheson

Matheson and colleagues evaluated 6,213 adults with chronic physical illness and 10,837 adults without chronic illness (controls) to determine gender differences in rates of seeking mental health care among people with and without chronic physical illness. Chronic physical illness included one or more of the following: diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The physical illness participants were more likely to use mental health services for mental illness (50.2%) vs. controls (41.9%), for an overall prevalence of 44.6%.

Time to mental health service usage for mental illness was also shorter among the physical illness participants vs. controls (P=.0059).

Women were also more likely to use mental health services for mental illness compared with men (HR=1.45; 95% CI, 1.35-1.55). Those with a pre-existing physical illness were also more likely to use mental health services compared with controls (HR=1.32; 95% CI, 1.23-1.42).

Women with physical illness were most likely to seek mental health services for mental illness, followed by women controls, men with physical illness and men controls.

“The findings point to an opportunity to provide more comprehensive care for patients with physical health problems,” Matheson told Healio.com. “For example, a clinician who is aware that patients with a physical health condition will later seek care for mental health concerns could be proactive, and within routine appointments, check in with patients on their mental health status. Given that men are less likely to seek care for mental health concerns in general, touching base with male and female patients is equally important.” — by Amber Cox

Flora I. Matheson, PhD, can be reached at mathesonf@smh.ca.

Disclosure: See the study for a full list of researchers’ financial disclosures.