RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Predictors of emergency department and GP use among patients with mental health conditions: a public health survey JF British Journal of General Practice JO Br J Gen Pract FD British Journal of General Practice SP e1 OP e8 DO 10.3399/bjgp19X707093 VO 70 IS 690 A1 Pooja Saini A1 Jason McIntyre A1 Rhiannon Corcoran A1 Konstantinos Daras A1 Clarissa Giebel A1 Elizabeth Fuller A1 Jane Shelton A1 Timothy Wilson A1 Terence Comerford A1 Rajan Nathan A1 Mark Gabbay YR 2020 UL http://bjgp.org/content/70/690/e1.abstract AB Background High demand for health services is an issue of current importance in England, in part because of the rapidly increasing use of emergency departments (EDs) and GP practices for mental health conditions and the high cost of these services.Aim To examine the social determinants of health service use in people with mental health issues.Design and setting Twenty-eight neighbourhoods, each with a population of 5000–10 000 people, in the north west coast of England with differing levels of deprivation.Method A comprehensive public health survey was conducted, comprising questions on housing, physical health, mental health, lifestyle, social issues, environment, work, and finances. Poisson regression models assessed the effect of mental health comorbidity, mental and physical health comorbidity, and individual mental health symptoms on ED and general practice attendances, adjusting for relevant socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.Results Participants who had both a physical and mental health condition reported attending the ED (rate ratio [RR] = 4.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.86 to 7.51) and general practice (RR = 3.82, 95% CI = 3.16 to 4.62) more frequently than all other groups. Having a higher number of mental health condition symptoms was associated with higher general practice and ED service use. Depression was the only mental health condition symptom that was significantly associated with ED attendance (RR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.05 to 1.90), and anxiety was the only symptom significantly associated with GP attendance (RR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.38).Conclusion Mental health comorbidities increase the risk of attendances to both EDs and general practice. Further research into the social attributes that contribute to reduced ED and general practice attendance rates is needed.