Alejandra Pinto-Meza

Toward a global view of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine use: findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

Background Alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use cause considerable morbidity and mortality, but good cross-national epidemiological data are limited. This paper describes such data from the first 17 countries participating in the World Health Organizations (WHOs) World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. Methods and Findings Household surveys with a combined sample size of 85,052 were carried out in the Americas (Colombia, Mexico, United States), Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine), Middle East and Africa (Israel, Lebanon, Nigeria, South Africa), Asia (Japan, Peoples Republic of China), and Oceania (New Zealand). The WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to assess the prevalence and correlates of a wide variety of mental and substance disorders. This paper focuses on lifetime use and age of initiation of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine. Alcohol had been used by most in the Americas, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand, with smaller proportions in the Middle East, Africa, and China. Cannabis use in the US and New Zealand (both 42%) was far higher than in any other country. The US was also an outlier in cocaine use (16%). Males were more likely than females to have used drugs; and a sex–cohort interaction was observed, whereby not only were younger cohorts more likely to use all drugs, but the male–female gap was closing in more recent cohorts. The period of risk for drug initiation also appears to be lengthening longer into adulthood among more recent cohorts. Associations with sociodemographic variables were consistent across countries, as were the curves of incidence of lifetime use. Conclusions Globally, drug use is not distributed evenly and is not simply related to drug policy, since countries with stringent user-level illegal drug policies did not have lower levels of use than countries with liberal ones. Sex differences were consistently documented, but are decreasing in more recent cohorts, who also have higher levels of illegal drug use and extensions in the period of risk for initiation.

The epidemiology of eating disorders in six European countries: Results of the ESEMeD-WMH project

Few data are available to estimate the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) and their correlates in the community. This paper reports data on EDs obtained in the framework of the ESEMeD project, aimed at investigating the prevalence of non-psychotic mental disorders in six European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain), using a new version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The ESEMeD study was a general population cross-sectional household survey. In total, 21,425 respondents aged 18 or older provided data for the project between January 2001 and August 2003. A subsample (N=4139) underwent a detailed investigation on EDs. Lifetime estimated prevalence of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, sub-threshold binge eating disorder, and any binge eating were 0.48%, 0.51%, 1.12%, 0.72%, and 2.15%, respectively, and they were 3-8 times higher among women for all EDs. However, since people under 18 were excluded from this study, our prevalence should be taken as lower-bound estimate of real frequencies. Indeed, cumulative lifetime prevalence analysis showed that the majority of eating disorders had their initial onset between 10 and 20 years of age. Role impairment and comorbidity with other mental disorders were highly common, yet only small proportions of patients with a lifetime diagnosis of EDs requested medical treatment. It still has to be proven whether early diagnostic identification and access to specialized care can reduce the burden caused by these disorders.

Assessing Depression in Primary Care with the PHQ‐9: Can It Be Carried Out over the Telephone?

AbstractBACKGROUND: Telephone assessment of depression for research purposes is increasingly being used. The Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item depression module (PHQ-9) is a well-validated, brief, self-reported, diagnostic, and severity measure of depression designed for use in primary care (PC). To our knowledge, there are no available data regarding its validity when administered over the telephone. OBJECTIVE: The aims of the present study were to evaluate agreement between self-administered and telephone-administered PHQ-9, to investigate possible systematic bias, and to evaluate the internal consistency of the telephone-administered PHQ-9. METHODS: Three hundred and forty-six participants from two PC centers were assessed twice with the PHQ-9. Participants were divided into 4 groups according to administration procedure order and administration procedure of the PHQ-9: Self-administered/Telephone-administered; Telephone-administered/Self-administered; Telephone-administered/Telephone-administered; and Self-administered/Self-administered. The first 2 groups served for analyzing the procedural validity of telephone-administered PHQ-9. The last 2 allowed a test-retest reliability analysis of both self- and telephone-administered PHQ-9. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and weighted κ (for each item) were calculated as measures of concordance. Additionally, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Student’s t-test, and Cronbach’s α were analyzed. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficient and weighted κ between both administration procedures were excellent, revealing a strong concordance between telephone- and self-administered PHQ-9. A small and clinically nonsignificant tendency was observed toward lower scores for the telephone-administered PHQ-9. The internal consistency of the telephone-administered PHQ-9 was high and close to the self-administered one. CONCLUSIONS: Telephone and in-person assessments by means of the PHQ-9 yield similar results. Thus, telephone administration of the PHQ-9 seems to be a reliable procedure for assessing depression in PC.

Epidemiology of major depressive episode in a southern European country: Results from the ESEMeD-Spain project

BACKGROUND Information of the epidemiology of Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in Spain, one of the biggest southern European countries, is scarce and heterogeneous. The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiology of the disorder in the Spanish sample of the ESEMeD project. METHODS The ESEMED-Spain project is a cross-sectional, general population, household survey conducted with a representative sample of Spanish non-institutionalized adult population. The survey instrument was the CIDI 3.0, a structured diagnostic interview to assess disorders and treatment. RESULTS Lifetime prevalence was 10.6% while 12-month prevalence was 4.0%. A monotonic increase in lifetime overall prevalence was found from the youngest to the 50-64 cohort, declining then in the oldest group. Median age of onset was 30.0. Being a woman (OR=2.7), previously married (OR=1.8), unemployed or disabled to work (OR=2.9) was associated to higher risk of 12-month-MDE. The highest comorbid associations were with dysthymia (OR=73.1) and panic disorder (OR=41.8). LIMITATIONS 1. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by trained lay interviewers and this could have an imperfect sensitivity/specificity; 2. Individuals with mental illness could have more frequently rejected to participate in the survey; 3. Age-related recall bias could have affected the accuracy of age of onset estimates. CONCLUSIONS The study shows that prevalence MDE in Spain is lower than in other Western countries. Important findings are the early age of onset, the high proportion of chronicity, and the high female/male ratio. Taken together, results offer a complex picture of the epidemiology of MDE in Spain, when compared to other countries in Europe. The role of cultural factors is discussed.

Burden of chronic physical conditions and mental disorders in primary care

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the three leading causes of burden of disease in 2030 are projected to include HIV/AIDS, unipolar depression and ischaemic heart disease. AIMS To estimate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) losses associated with mental disorders and chronic physical conditions in primary healthcare using data from the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in primary care (DASMAP) study, an epidemiological survey carried out with primary care patients in Catalonia (Spain). METHOD A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 3815 primary care patients. A preference-based measure of health was derived from the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12): the Short Form-6D (SF-6D) multi-attribute health-status classification. Each profile generated by this questionnaire has a utility (or weight) assigned. We used non-parametric quantile regressions to model the association between both mental disorders and chronic physical condition and SF-6D scores. RESULTS Conditions associated with SF-6D were: mood disorders, beta = -0.20 (95% CI -0.18 to -0.21); pain, beta = -0.08 (95%CI -0.06 to -0.09) and anxiety, beta = -0.04 (95% CI -0.03 to -0.06). The top three causes of QALY losses annually per 100 000 participants were pain (5064), mood disorders (2634) and anxiety (805). CONCLUSIONS Estimation of QALY losses showed that mood disorders ranked second behind pain-related chronic medical conditions.

What is the relative importance of self reported psychotic symptoms in epidemiological studies? Results from the ESEMeD—Catalonia Study

Different prevalence of non-affective psychosis has been reported in general population surveys. The objectives of this study were to describe lifetime prevalence of non-affective psychosis in Catalonia, Spain; and to analyze the use of the CIDI psychosis module as a screening instrument for psychotic disorders. As part of the ESEMeD project in Catalonia, 1645 respondents were assessed with the CIDI. Respondents who scored positively to any of the CIDI psychosis screen questions, who had been hospitalised for a psychiatric reason or had received antipsychotic medication were re-assessed with the SCID-I by a clinician. The results showed that 11.18% people of the sample had lifetime self reported psychotic symptoms using the CIDI. After a clinical interview with the SCID-I, between 0.85 and 2.37% of the sample had a psychotic disorder, and 0.48%-1.58% had schizophrenia. The most frequent reported psychotic symptoms in individuals without a psychotic disorder were those related with hearing or seeing something missing during a bereavement period. Experiencing mind control, feeling that your mind was being controlled by strange forces, experiencing attempts of communications (CIDI questions) and taking medication were the items that discriminate between non-affective psychosis cases and negatives. Only experiencing mind control was associated with psychotic disorders in a logistic regression analysis. The main conclusions are that the use of lay-administered interviews should only be used as a screening instrument in the detection of psychosis in general population surveys because the majority of self reported psychotic symptoms have not been found to be associated with a psychotic disorder.

Prevalencia y factores de riesgo de las ideas, planes e intentos de suicidio en la población general española. Resultados del estudio ESEMeD

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Suicide is a public health problem and it is increasing in Spain. The objective of this study is to analyze the prevalence and risk factors of suicide related outcomes (ideation, plan and attempt) using data from the ESEMeD-Spain project. SUBJECTS AND METHOD This is a face-to-face household survey carried out in a probability representative sample of the adult general population of Spain. 5,473 subjects were interviewed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0), developed by the World Mental Health Survey Initiative. RESULTS Lifetime prevalence of suicide ideation and attempts was 4.4% and 1.5%, respectively. Risk of suicide related outcomes was significantly higher among women (odds ratio [OR] = 2.3-2.7), younger cohorts (OR = 21.3-86), and lower education levels (OR = 5.3-6.4). Having a mental disorder was associated to an increased risk in all diagnostic categories, but especially in major depressive episode (OR = 5.3-6.8). Risk of suicide attempt was higher during the first year since the onset of ideation (OR = 30.2), decreasing thereafter. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of suicide related outcomes is low when compared with other countries. Results identified groups with higher risk (women, young, subjects with a mental disorder, psychiatric comorbidity and recent suicidal ideation) in which suicide prevention could show benefits.

Factor structure, internal consistency and construct validity of the Sheehan Disability Scale in a Spanish primary care sample

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) is a three-item instrument that measures disability in three inter-related domains: work, family life/home responsibilities and social/leisure activities. The main objective of the present study was to examine the factor structure, reliability and construct validity of the SDS in a wide Spanish sample of primary care (PC) patients. METHODS One phase cross-sectional survey. A total of 3815 patients, aged 18 years or older attending PC for a medical visit, were interviewed between October 2005 and March 2006. The interviews included the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders for depressive and anxiety disorders, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for the rest of mental disorders, a medical conditions checklist, the 2.0 version of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) for measuring quality of life and the SDS. RESULTS The principal component analysis and the subsequent confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the SDS is one-dimensional (normed fit index = 0.990, non-normed fit index = 0.987, comparative fit index = 0.991, goodness-of-fit index = 0.993, standardized root mean-square residual = 0.037, root mean-square error of approximation = 0.053). The internal consistency of the scale was good (α = 0.83) and it was significantly associated with the physical and mental component of the SF-12. Concerning discriminative validity, patients with major depression or panic disorder scored higher on the SDS than patients with chronic medical conditions or with no chronic pathology. We also found that a cut-off point of 8 in the SDS adequately discriminated between patients with and without depression (area under the curve = 0.814, sensitivity = 81.60%, specificity = 70.60%). CONCLUSIONS The SDS seems a reliable, valid and useful clinical tool for measuring disability in Spanish PC patients.

Social inequalities in mental health: results from the EU contribution to the World Mental Health Surveys Initiative

PurposeThe objective of the present study was to provide updated data from nine European countries about the impact of social inequalities in the prevalence of common mental disorders.MethodsCross-sectional household survey of a representative sample of the adult general population of Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Romania and Spain. In total, 34,395 individuals were included. Social inequalities in 12-month mood, anxiety and alcohol-related disorders were evaluated.ResultsIn Europe, income seems not to be related to the prevalence of mental disorders. Unemployment and disablement are associated with mental disorders. Lower educational level augments the risk for mood disorders. Living in small (rural) areas decreases the risk for mood disorders and living in urban settings increases it. Northern Ireland, Portugal and Belgium are the countries with the highest risks for mental disorders.ConclusionsDespite some contradictions with previous literature, in Europe there are social inequalities in the prevalence of mental disorders. However, income showed not to be associated with inequalities in mental health. Being younger, unemployed or disabled, with no education or incomplete primary studies, living in urban settings, and in Northern Ireland, Portugal or Belgium were associated to an augmented prevalence of mental disorders. Policy makers could focus on mental health promotion and mental disorders prevention programmes for risk groups such as unemployed/disabled individuals. Support to vulnerable groups (unemployed or those with less education) and mental health literacy can improve European citizens’ mental health.

Adequacy of Antidepressant Treatment in Spanish Primary Care: A Naturalistic Six-Month Follow-Up Study

OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the adequacy of pharmacological antidepressant treatment in major depressive episodes prescribed in 16 Spanish primary care centers, both during the acute phase of treatment and after the first three months of the continuation phase, under real-world naturalistic conditions (usual care). Factors that could be associated with adequacy of care also were explored. METHODS A total of 333 patients from primary care who began pharmacological antidepressant treatment were followed up for six months. Treatment adequacy and associated factors were evaluated. RESULTS Between 27% and 32% of patients received adequate antidepressant treatment during the acute phase. Percentages of adequacy were between 21% and 25% when considering the acute phase and the first three months of the continuation phase. Psychiatric consultations were found to be associated with treatment adequacy. CONCLUSIONS In state-funded Spanish primary care centers, antidepressant treatment adequacy was poor during both the acute phase and the first three months of the continuation phase. Primary care physicians prescribed suggested antidepressants, mostly as recommended (99%) and at adequate dosages. However, they did not perform the recommended number of follow-up sessions and treated patients with depressive disorders other than major depression as if they had a major depressive episode. Collaborative interventions between primary and specialized care could improve treatment adequacy.