Prevalence and treatment of mental disorders among US children in the 2001-2004 NHANES.

Objective: This article presents the 12-month prevalence estimates of specific mental disorders, their social and demographic correlates, and service use patterns in children and adolescents from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative probability sample of noninstitutionalized US civilians.

Methods: The sample includes 3042 participants 8 to 15 years of age from cross-sectional surveys conducted from 2001 to 2004. Data on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for mental disorders were derived from administration of selected modules of the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, version IV, a structured diagnostic interview administered by lay interviewers to assess psychiatric diagnoses of children and adolescents.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: U.S. normative data and psychometric properties.

Objective: To evaluate the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a U.S. national population sample of children and adolescents, develop normative scoring bands, and test the association of high-scoring groups with service contacts or use for mental health reasons.

Mild disorders should not be eliminated from the DSM-V.

Background: High prevalence estimates in epidemiological surveys have led to concerns that the DSM system is overly inclusive and that mild cases should be excluded from future DSM editions.

Objective: To demonstrate that the DSM-III-R disorders in the baseline National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) can be placed on a severity gradient that has a dose-response relationship with outcomes assessed a decade later in the NCS follow-up survey (NCS-2) and that no inflection point exists at the mild severity level.

Methods: The NCS was a nationally representative household survey of DSM-III-R disorders in the 3-year time span 1990-1992.

Development and natural history of mood disorders.

To expand and accelerate research on mood disorders, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) developed a project to formulate a strategic research plan for mood disorder research. One of the areas selected for review concerns the development and natural history of these disorders. The NIMH convened a multidisciplinary Workgroup of scientists to review the field and the NIMH portfolio and to generate specific recommendations.

Future of genetics of mood disorders research.

This report summarizes the deliberations of a panel with representation from diverse disciplines of relevance to the genetics of mood disorders. The major charge to the panel was to develop a strategic plan to employ the tools of genetics to advance the understanding, treatment, and outcomes for mood disorders. A comprehensive review of the evidence for the role of genetic factors in the etiology of mood disorders was conducted, and the chief impediments for progress in gene identification were identified.