Background and purpose: Both musculoskeletal illness and mental illness characterized by somatic symptoms are common in primary care, and it is hypothesized that many patients with musculoskeletal illness have relatively poor mental health. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of patients in general practice in Denmark who are referred to physiotherapists with signs and symptoms of musculoskeletal illness.
Subjects and methods: One hundred ninety-four general practitioners, representing 124 practices, participated in a survey of 2,042 consecutive patients with musculoskeletal illness.
Results: The diagnoses were generally poorly defined. Compared with the general population, patients with musculoskeletal illness had markedly poorer physical health and poorer mental health. Patients with poorly defined diagnoses did not differ from patients with well-defined diagnoses in terms of physical health, but they scored lower on the mental health component summary scale of the Danish version of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36).
Conclusion and discussion: Of patients referred to physiotherapists by general practitioners in Denmark, the subgroup with poorly defined diagnoses had lower mental health scores than those with well-defined diagnoses, suggesting that a biopsychosocial approach to care may be appropriate for this group of patients.