Background Psychiatric disorders are among the top causesworldwide of disease burden and disability.Amajor criterionfor validatingdiagnosesis stability

Method Atotal of 34 368 patients receivedpsychiatric care inthe catchment area of one Spanishhospital (1992^2004). This studyisbasedon10 025 adultpatients whowere assessed on at leastten occasions (360 899 psychiatric consultations) in three settings: in-patient unit, 2000^2004 (n1⁄4546); psychiatric emergencyroom, 2000^2004 (n1⁄41408); and out-patient psychiatric facilities,1992^ 2004 (n1⁄410 016).Prospective consistency, retrospective consistency and the proportion of patientswho received each diagnosis in at least 75% ofthe evaluations were calculated for each diagnosis in each settingand across settings.