Stale, Soft, or Chronic

Excerpt

Physicians in Rochester, N. Y., have recently provided evidence (1) confirming again that mental and emotional disorders are a sizeable fraction of problems presented by patients. The data were reported by 29 internists and 29 general practitioners from a population of 14,117 white adult patients. The highest rate, 25%, of psychiatric disorders was in women between ages 35 and 54. Men between ages 15 to 24 and 65 to 99 had the lowest rate, 7%. The overall rate was 14%. The rates reported by internists and by general practitioners did not differ. The therapeutic challenge from these patients is implicit