To determine the prevalence of somatisation, depression, anxiety and stress, investigate the socio-demographic characteristics and determine the diagnostic overlap of somatisation, depression, anxiety and stress.

A cross-sectional study.

Primary Health Care (PHC) Center.

Representative sample of 2150 patients were approached and 1762 patients agreed to participate (81.9%) March to October, 2011.

General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to identify the probable cases. Anxiety was assessed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Depression was assessed with depression module (PHQ-8). Somatisation was measured with somatic symptom module of the PHQ -15. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) instrument was used to identify the stress cases.

The prevalence rate of somatisation, depression, anxiety and stress were 11.7%, 10.6%, 8.3% and 18.6% respectively. More than half of the sufferers with somatisation (58.3%), depression (54.3%), anxiety (50.7%) and stress (56.4%) were men in the age group 45–54 years. Half of the subjects with somatisation (51.4%), depression (50.8%), anxiety (53.4%) and stress (50.7%) were with low education. low economic status among the somatic (35.9%), depressive (35.7%), anxious (35.6%) and stress (34.5%) patients. For somatisation, the most common symptom experienced by men (68.3%) and women (66.3%) was back pain. There was considerable overlap between these four mental disorders.

Stress and somatisation were the most frequent observed among patients compared to depression and anxiety. Patients with low education and low economic status were more affected with these four mental disorders and patients were not able to cope up daily activities.