The associations between traumatic experiences and subsequent onset of a substance use disorder: Findings from the World Health Organization World Mental Health surveys.

Aim: Exposure to traumatic events (TEs) is associated with substance use disorders (SUDs). However, most studies focus on a single TE, and are limited to single countries, rather than across countries with variation in economic, social and cultural characteristics. We used cross-national data to examine associations of diverse TEs with SUD onset, and variation in associations over time.

Patterns of care and dropout rates from outpatient mental healthcare in low-, middle- and high-income countries from the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

Background: There is a substantial proportion of patients who drop out of treatment before they receive minimally adequate care. They tend to have worse health outcomes than those who complete treatment. Our main goal is to describe the frequency and determinants of dropout from treatment for mental disorders in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

The epidemiology of alcohol use disorders cross-nationally: Findings from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Prevalences of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) and Mental Health Disorders (MHDs) in many individual countries have been reported but there are few cross-national studies. The WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative standardizes methodological factors facilitating comparison of the prevalences and associated factors of AUDs in a large number of countries to identify differences and commonalities.

Methods: Lifetime and 12-month prevalence estimates of DSM-IV AUDs, MHDs, and associations were assessed in the 29 WMH surveys using the WHO CIDI 3.

Association of Cohort and Individual Substance Use With Risk of Transitioning to Drug Use, Drug Use Disorder, and Remission From Disorder: Findings From the World Mental Health Surveys.

Importance: Limited empirical research has examined the extent to which cohort-level prevalence of substance use is associated with the onset of drug use and transitioning into greater involvement with drug use.

Objective: To use cross-national data to examine time-space variation in cohort-level drug use to assess its associations with onset and transitions across stages of drug use, abuse, dependence, and remission.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys carried out cross-sectional general population surveys in 25 countries using a consistent research protocol and assessment instrument.

Cross-national patterns of substance use disorder treatment and associations with mental disorder comorbidity in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Aims: To examine cross-national patterns of 12-month substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and minimally adequate treatment (MAT), and associations with mental disorder comorbidity.

Design: Cross-sectional, representative household surveys.

Setting: Twenty-seven surveys from 25 countries of the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

Development of quality indicators for mental healthcare in the Danube region.

Background: Quality indicators are quality assurance instruments for the evaluation of mental healthcare systems. Quality indicators can be used to measure the effectiveness of mental healthcare structure and process reforms. This project aims to develop quality indicators for mental healthcare systems in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Serbia to provide monitoring instruments for the transformation of mental healthcare systems in these countries.

Mental health legislation in Bulgaria - a brief overview.

Bulgaria has never had a separate law on mental health. Issues such as mandatory treatment, guardianship and legal capacity were regulated in the People's Health Act, which was in force until 2005, when it was replaced by a new Health Act. That Act has a chapter relating specifically to mental health, and this article describes its provisions.

The cross-national epidemiology of social anxiety disorder: Data from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

Background: There is evidence that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent and disabling disorder. However, most of the available data on the epidemiology of this condition originate from high income countries in the West. The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative provides an opportunity to investigate the prevalence, course, impairment, socio-demographic correlates, comorbidity, and treatment of this condition across a range of high, middle, and low income countries in different geographic regions of the world, and to address the question of whether differences in SAD merely reflect differences in threshold for diagnosis.

A blind spot on the global mental health map: a scoping review of 25 years' development of mental health care for people with severe mental illnesses in central and eastern Europe.

Just over 25 years have passed since the major sociopolitical changes in central and eastern Europe; our aim was to map and analyse the development of mental health-care practice for people with severe mental illnesses in this region since then. A scoping review was complemented by an expert survey in 24 countries. Mental health-care practice in the region differs greatly across as well as within individual countries.

Cross-sectional Comparison of the Epidemiology of DSM-5 Generalized Anxiety Disorder Across the Globe.

Importance: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is poorly understood compared with other anxiety disorders, and debates persist about the seriousness of this disorder. Few data exist on GAD outside a small number of affluent, industrialized nations. No population-based data exist on GAD as it is currently defined in DSM-5.

Association of DSM-IV Posttraumatic Stress Disorder With Traumatic Experience Type and History in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys.

Importance: Previous research has documented significant variation in the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) depending on the type of traumatic experience (TE) and history of TE exposure, but the relatively small sample sizes in these studies resulted in a number of unresolved basic questions.

Objective: To examine disaggregated associations of type of TE history with PTSD in a large cross-national community epidemiologic data set.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The World Health Organization World Mental Health surveys assessed 29 TE types (lifetime exposure, age at first exposure) with DSM-IV PTSD that was associated with 1 randomly selected TE exposure (the random TE) for each respondent.

Undertreatment of people with major depressive disorder in 21 countries.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

Aims: To examine the: (a) 12-month prevalence of DSM-IV MDD; (b) proportion aware that they have a problem needing treatment and who want care; (c) proportion of the latter receiving treatment; and (d) proportion of such treatment meeting minimal standards.

Method: Representative community household surveys from 21 countries as part of the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys.

The role of religious advisors in mental health care in the World Mental Health surveys.

Objectives: To examine the role of religious advisors in mental health care (MHC) according to disorder severity, socio-demographics, religious involvement and country income groups.

Methods: Face to face household surveys in ten high income (HI), six upper-middle income (UMI) and five low/lower-middle (LLMI) income countries totalling 101,258 adults interviewed with the WMH CIDI plus questions on use of care for mental health problems and religiosity.

Results: 1.

Health conditions and role limitation in three European Regions: a public-health perspective.

Objective: To describe the distribution of role limitation in the European population aged 18-64 years and to examine the contribution of health conditions to role limitation using a public-health approach.

Methods: Representative samples of the adult general population (n=13,666) aged 18-64 years from 10 European countries of the World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys Initiative, grouped into three regions: Central-Western, Southern and Central-Eastern. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.

Post-traumatic stress disorder associated with life-threatening motor vehicle collisions in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a substantial contributor to the global burden of disease and lead to subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the relevant literature originates in only a few countries, and much remains unknown about MVC-related PTSD prevalence and predictors.

Methods: Data come from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative, a coordinated series of community epidemiological surveys of mental disorders throughout the world.

Proportion of patients without mental disorders being treated in mental health services worldwide.

Background: Previous research suggests that many people receiving mental health treatment do not meet criteria for a mental disorder but are rather 'the worried well'.

Aims: To examine the association of past-year mental health treatment with DSM-IV disorders.

Method: The World Health Organization's World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys interviewed community samples of adults in 23 countries (n = 62 305) about DSM-IV disorders and treatment in the past 12 months for problems with emotions, alcohol or drugs.

How well can post-traumatic stress disorder be predicted from pre-trauma risk factors? An exploratory study in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) should be one of the most preventable mental disorders, since many people exposed to traumatic experiences (TEs) could be targeted in first response settings in the immediate aftermath of exposure for preventive intervention. However, these interventions are costly and the proportion of TE-exposed people who develop PTSD is small. To be cost-effective, risk prediction rules are needed to target high-risk people in the immediate aftermath of a TE.

Family burden related to mental and physical disorders in the world: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys.

Objective: To assess prevalence and correlates of family caregiver burdens associated with mental and physical conditions worldwide.

Methods: Cross-sectional community surveys asked 43,732 adults residing in 19 countries of the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys about chronic physical and mental health conditions of first-degree relatives and associated objective (time, financial) and subjective (distress, embarrassment) burdens. Magnitudes and associations of burden are examined by kinship status and family health problem; population-level estimates are provided.

Disability mediates the impact of common conditions on perceived health.

Background: We examined the extent to which disability mediates the observed associations of common mental and physical conditions with perceived health.

Methods And Findings: WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys carried out in 22 countries worldwide (n = 51,344 respondents, 72.0% response rate).

Drop out from out-patient mental healthcare in the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey initiative.

Background: Previous community surveys of the drop out from mental health treatment have been carried out only in the USA and Canada.

Aims: To explore mental health treatment drop out in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys.

Method: Representative face-to-face household surveys were conducted among adults in 24 countries.

Role of common mental and physical disorders in partial disability around the world.

Background: Mental and physical disorders are associated with total disability, but their effects on days with partial disability (i.e. the ability to perform some, but not full-role, functioning in daily life) are not well understood.

Parent psychopathology and offspring mental disorders: results from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Associations between specific parent and offspring mental disorders are likely to have been overestimated in studies that have failed to control for parent comorbidity.

Aims: To examine the associations of parent with respondent disorders.

Method: Data come from the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Surveys (n = 51 507).

Screening for serious mental illness in the general population with the K6 screening scale: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative.

Data are reported on the background and performance of the K6 screening scale for serious mental illness (SMI) in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. The K6 is a six-item scale developed to provide a brief valid screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV) SMI based on the criteria in the US ADAMHA Reorganization Act. Although methodological studies have documented good K6 validity in a number of countries, optimal scoring rules have never been proposed.