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Primary mental healthcare: a Dutch database study613Introduction People with mild intellectual disability (MID), characterised by a significant deficit in intellectual and adaptive functioning, 1 suffer from more mental health (MH) disorders compared to people without intellectual disability (ID), 2, 3 but often do not receive appropriate mental healthcare. 4-8 General practitioners (GPs) are often the first point of contact for people with MH problems and are gatekeepers to specialised mental healthcare services. 9Prevalence studies in primary care with a specific focus on mental health in people with MID are scarce and focus on established MH disorders only, implicating a lack of knowledge on MH-related complaints (problems presented, no established diagnoses) in primary care.There are several reasons for concern. Firstly, the identification of both MH disorders 2 and MID are considered problematic. 9, 10 Secondly, people with ID experience general health disparities, including mental health, because of barriers to providing timely, appropriate, and effective primary healthcare.6 Long-term conditions, like psychosis and depression, are poorly managed in primary care, 5 and psychotropic prescriptions exceed the number of reported MH disorders, suggesting inappropriate prescriptions. 2, 9 Finally, GPs themselves indicate a lack of knowledge and feel insecure about providing the care needed. 9-11Still, little is known about the type of MH problems for which people with MID visit their GP and the care they receive. This primary care database study aims to provide an overview of the prevalence of both MH disorders and MH complaints in people with MID and the care provided in terms of consultations and type of medication prescriptions, compared to people without ID. In addition, we study how often the GP adequately codes a person with MID. Katrien Pouls sHL.indd 61 24-06-2024 16:26