Objective:

To determine the epidemiological, clinical and family characteristics of patients with mental disorders assigned to a Mexican family medicine unit (FMU).

Material and methods:

Prospective, cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study of 164 patients assigned to a Mexican FMU, chosen by non-probabilistic evidence that they met the selection criteria: older than 18 years, with mental disorder, without physical or cognitive impairment.

Results:

51 men and 113 women with a mean age of 48.6 years were presented; 57% with more than one mental disorder; the most frequent were depression and anxiety. In schooling overselling bachelor’s degree; 16% reported attempted suicide, 42% have been diagnosed for more than 6 years. 64.6% receive psychotherapy and pharmacology; 18% were hospitalized due to their disorders, most of them between 1 and 4 weeks and 38% have a family member with a mental disorder. The most frequent comorbidities were hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and osteoarthritis. The most frequent types of family are: nuclear or simple nuclear, with integrated nucleus and non-integrated nucleus; they subsist mainly on services; they live with levels 1 and 2 of family poverty; are modern and urban in greater number.

Conclusions:

the epidemiological, clinical and family characteristics of patients with mental disorders assigned to a Mexican family medicine unit (FMU) are mostly women, in middle adulthood, who attend more than a mental disorder (anxiety and depression), treated with drugs and psychotherapy, also had hypertension, and belong to families of simple nuclear type and non-integrated nucleus; subsist on services; they live with levels 1 and 2 of family poverty, they are modern and urban.

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