A nationwide analysis of 350 million patient encounters reveals a high volume of mental-health conditions in primary care

How many primary-care encounters are devoted to mental-health conditions compared with physical-health conditions? We analyzed Norway’s nationwide administrative primary-care records, extracting all doctor–patient encounters occurring during 14 years (2006–2019) for the population aged 0–100 years. Encounters were recorded using the International Classification of Primary Care. We compared the volume of mental-health encounters with volumes for conditions across multiple body systems. A total of 4,875,722 patients generated 354,516,291 encounters. One in 9 encounters (11.7%) involved a mental-health condition. Only musculoskeletal conditions accounted for a greater share of primary-care physicians’ attention. The volume of mental-health encounters in primary care equaled encounters for infections, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and exceeded encounters for pain, injuries, metabolic, digestive, skin, urological, reproductive and sensory conditions. Primary-care physicians frequently treat complex mental-health conditions in patients of every age, indicating they may have a more important role in preventing escalation of mental-health problems than previously appreciated.

Avshalom Caspi, Renate M Houts, Terrie E Moffitt, Leah S Richmond-Rakerd, Matthew R Hanna, Hans Fredrik Sunde, Fartein Ask Torvik