262 patients who had attended to a primary care unit and got a psychiatrie diagnosis or a sufficient number of psychiatric symptoms with a standard diagnostic interview one year ago, were followed up. 43% of patiets who had a ICD-10 psychiatric disorder continued to have an ICD-10 disorder after one year. Persistence rate was 53.2% in depression, 31.3% in somatization disorder, 28.5% in generalized anxiety disorder. The prognosis of the psychiatric disorders were associated with the primary care physician’s recognition of the psychological problems, age and education. Two factors were found to be important in prediction of the prognosis in psychiatric disorders: the primary care physycian’s diagnosis and the number of somatic symptoms.
