T. Bedirhan Üstün

The World Health Organization adult ADHD self-report scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population

BACKGROUND A self-report screening scale of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the World Health Organization (WHO) Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) was developed in conjunction with revision of the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). The current report presents data on concordance of the ASRS and of a short-form ASRS screener with blind clinical diagnoses in a community sample. METHOD The ASRS includes 18 questions about frequency of recent DSM-IV Criterion A symptoms of adult ADHD. The ASRS screener consists of six out of these 18 questions that were selected based on stepwise logistic regression to optimize concordance with the clinical classification. ASRS responses were compared to blind clinical ratings of DSM-IV adult ADHD in a sample of 154 respondents who previously participated in the US National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), oversampling those who reported childhood ADHD and adult persistence. RESULTS Each ASRS symptom measure was significantly related to the comparable clinical symptom rating, but varied substantially in concordance (Cohens kappa in the range 0.16-0.81). Optimal scoring to predict clinical syndrome classifications was to sum unweighted dichotomous responses across all 18 ASRS questions. However, because of the wide variation in symptom-level concordance, the unweighted six-question ASRS screener outperformed the unweighted 18-question ASRS in sensitivity (68.7% v. 56.3%), specificity (99.5% v. 98.3%), total classification accuracy (97.9% v. 96.2%), and kappa (0.76 v. 0.58). CONCLUSIONS Clinical calibration in larger samples might show that a weighted version of the 18-question ASRS outperforms the six-question ASRS screener. Until that time, however, the unweighted screener should be preferred to the full ASRS, both in community surveys and in clinical outreach and case-finding initiatives.

Age of onset of mental disorders: a review of recent literature.

Purpose of review The aim of this article is to review recent epidemiological research on age-of-onset of mental disorders, focusing on the WHO World Mental Health surveys. Recent findings Median and inter-quartile range (IQR; 25th–75th percentiles) of age-of-onset is much earlier for phobias (7–14, IQR 4–20) and impulse–control disorders (7–15; IQR 4–35) than other anxiety disorders (25–53, IQR 15–75), mood disorders (25–45, IQR 17–65), and substance disorders (18–29, IQR 16–43). Although less data exist for nonaffective psychosis, available evidence suggests that median age-of-onset is in the range late teens through early 20s. Roughly half of all lifetime mental disorders in most studies start by the mid-teens and three quarters by the mid-20s. Later onsets are mostly secondary conditions. Severe disorders are typically preceded by less severe disorders that are seldom brought to clinical attention. Summary First onset of mental disorders usually occur in childhood or adolescence, although treatment typically does not occur until a number of years later. Although interventions with early incipient disorders might help reduce severity-persistence of primary disorders and prevent secondary disorders, additional research is needed on appropriate treatments for early incipient cases and on long-term evaluation of the effects of early intervention on secondary prevention.

Patterns and predictors of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder persistence into adulthood : Results from the national comorbidity survey replication

BACKGROUND Despite growing interest in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), little is known about predictors of persistence of childhood cases into adulthood. METHODS A retrospective assessment of childhood ADHD, childhood risk factors, and a screen for adult ADHD were included in a sample of 3197 18-44 year old respondents in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Blinded adult ADHD clinical reappraisal interviews were administered to a sub-sample of respondents. Multiple imputation (MI) was used to estimate adult persistence of childhood ADHD. Logistic regression was used to study retrospectively reported childhood predictors of persistence. Potential predictors included socio-demographics, childhood ADHD severity, childhood adversity, traumatic life experiences, and comorbid DSM-IV child-adolescent disorders (anxiety, mood, impulse-control, and substance disorders). RESULTS Blinded clinical interviews classified 36.3% of respondents with retrospectively assessed childhood ADHD as meeting DSM-IV criteria for current ADHD. Childhood ADHD severity and childhood treatment significantly predicted persistence. Controlling for severity and excluding treatment, none of the other variables significantly predicted persistence even though they were significantly associated with childhood ADHD. CONCLUSIONS No modifiable risk factors were found for adult persistence of ADHD. Further research, ideally based on prospective general population samples, is needed to search for modifiable determinants of adult persistence of ADHD.

Developing the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0

OBJECTIVE To describe the development of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) for measuring functioning and disability in accordance with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. WHODAS 2.0 is a standard metric for ensuring scientific comparability across different populations. METHODS A series of studies was carried out globally. Over 65,000 respondents drawn from the general population and from specific patient populations were interviewed by trained interviewers who applied the WHODAS 2.0 (with 36 items in its full version and 12 items in a shortened version). FINDINGS The WHODAS 2.0 was found to have high internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha, α: 0.86), a stable factor structure; high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.98); good concurrent validity in patient classification when compared with other recognized disability measurement instruments; conformity to Rasch scaling properties across populations, and good responsiveness (i.e. sensitivity to change). Effect sizes ranged from 0.44 to 1.38 for different health interventions targeting various health conditions. CONCLUSION The WHODAS 2.0 meets the need for a robust instrument that can be easily administered to measure the impact of health conditions, monitor the effectiveness of interventions and estimate the burden of both mental and physical disorders across different populations.

Application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in clinical practice

(2002). Application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in clinical practice. Disability and Rehabilitation: Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 281-282.

Using the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ) to Evaluate the Indirect Workplace Costs of Illness

This report presents an overview of methodological issues in estimating the indirect workplace costs of illness from data obtained in employee surveys using the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ). The HPQ is a brief self-report questionnaire that obtains three types of information: screening information about the prevalence and treatment of commonly occurring health problems; information about three types of workplace consequences (sickness absence, presenteeism, and critical incidents); and basic demographic information. The report considers two sets of methodological issues. The first set deals with measurement. The rationale for the HPQ approach to measurement is described in this section. In addition, data are presented regarding the accuracy of HPQ measures, documenting that the HPQ has excellent reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change. The second set of methodological issues deals with data analysis. A number of analysis problems are reviewed that arise in using self-report nonexperimental survey data to estimate the workplace costs of illness and the cost-effectiveness of treatment. Innovative data analysis strategies are described to address these problems.

Development of Lifetime Comorbidity in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys

CONTEXT Although numerous studies have examined the role of latent variables in the structure of comorbidity among mental disorders, none has examined their role in the development of comorbidity. OBJECTIVE To study the role of latent variables in the development of comorbidity among 18 lifetime DSM-IV disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. DESIGN Nationally or regionally representative community surveys. SETTING Fourteen countries. PARTICIPANTS A total of 21 229 survey respondents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES First onset of 18 lifetime DSM-IV anxiety, mood, behavior, and substance disorders assessed retrospectively in the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview. RESULTS Separate internalizing (anxiety and mood disorders) and externalizing (behavior and substance disorders) factors were found in exploratory factor analysis of lifetime disorders. Consistently significant positive time-lagged associations were found in survival analyses for virtually all temporally primary lifetime disorders predicting subsequent onset of other disorders. Within-domain (ie, internalizing or externalizing) associations were generally stronger than between-domain associations. Most time-lagged associations were explained by a model that assumed the existence of mediating latent internalizing and externalizing variables. Specific phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (internalizing) and hyperactivity and oppositional defiant disorders (externalizing) were the most important predictors. A small number of residual associations remained significant after controlling the latent variables. CONCLUSIONS The good fit of the latent variable model suggests that common causal pathways account for most of the comorbidity among the disorders considered herein. These common pathways should be the focus of future research on the development of comorbidity, although several important pairwise associations that cannot be accounted for by latent variables also exist that warrant further focused study.

Disability and treatment of specific mental and physical disorders across the world

BACKGROUND Advocates of expanded mental health treatment assert that mental disorders are as disabling as physical disorders, but little evidence supports this assertion. AIMS To establish the disability and treatment of specific mental and physical disorders in high-income and low- and middle-income countries. METHOD Community epidemiological surveys were administered in 15 countries through the World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. RESULTS Respondents in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries attributed higher disability to mental disorders than to the commonly occurring physical disorders included in the surveys. This pattern held for all disorders and also for treated disorders. Disaggregation showed that the higher disability of mental than physical disorders was limited to disability in social and personal role functioning, whereas disability in productive role functioning was generally comparable for mental and physical disorders. CONCLUSIONS Despite often higher disability, mental disorders are under-treated compared with physical disorders in both high-income and in low- and middle-income countries.

Outcomes of Recognized and Unrecognized Depression in an International Primary Care Study

Longitudinal data from the World Health Organization Psychological Problems in General Health Care study were used to examine the relationship between recognition and outcomes among depressed primary care patients. A representative sample of primary care patients at 15 sites completed a baseline assessment including the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and the Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ). The GHQ and BDQ were readministered after 3 months, and the GHQ, BDQ, and CIDI were readministered after 12 months. Of 948 patients with major depression at the baseline assessment, 42% were recognized by the primary care physician and given an appropriate diagnosis. Recognized patients were more severely ill (mean GHQ score 16.2 vs. 12.9, t = 5.44, p < 0.001) and more disabled (mean BDQ score 9.8 vs 8.2, t = 3.22, p < 0.001) at baseline. Recognized patients showed a significantly greater decrease in GHQ score at the 3-month assessment (6.1 vs 4.1, F = 5.33, df = 1, p = 0.02). At 12 months, recognized and unrecognized groups did not differ in either change in GHQ score or change in diagnostic status from baseline. Results were consistent across study sites. Our data suggest that recognition and appropriate diagnosis of depression in primary care is associated with significantly greater short-term improvement. The absence of a relationship between recognition and long-term outcomes may reflect limitations of this observational study. When considered along with other recent studies, these findings suggest that increasing recognition of depression in primary care is only a first step toward more appropriate treatment.

The global burden of epilepsy

Summary: We briefly describe the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) study, its goals, and some of its outcomes as related to neurologic and psychiatric disorders. The summary measure of population health DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) are described, as well as the implications for neuropsychiatric disorders of changing health indicators and the move from mortality toward disability indicators. The pressing need for new measures for health is answered by the new WHO Classification of Functioning Disability and Health, ICF, and a brief summary of its basic principles is provided. Although a better understanding of the physical, social, and economic burden of epilepsy has moved this disorder higher on the worlds agenda, epilepsy still has problems to be recognized as a public health priority. The implications of a shift toward considering the disability of epilepsy, as outlined in the the WHO World Health Report 2001, are important. The burden of epilepsy is high and, for the year 2000, accounts for ∼0.5% of the whole burden of diseases in the world.