Civilians in World War II and DSM-IV mental disorders: results from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

Purpose: Understanding the effects of war on mental disorders is important for developing effective post-conflict recovery policies and programs. The current study uses cross-sectional, retrospectively reported data collected as part of the World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative to examine the associations of being a civilian in a war zone/region of terror in World War II with a range of DSM-IV mental disorders.

Methods: Adults (n = 3370) who lived in countries directly involved in World War II in Europe and Japan were administered structured diagnostic interviews of lifetime DSM-IV mental disorders.

Psychological well-being and risk perceptions of mothers in Kyiv, Ukraine, 19 years after the Chornobyl disaster.

Background: The Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion in April 1986 was one of the worst ecological disasters of the 20th century. As with most disasters, its long-term mental health consequences have not been examined.

Aims: This study describes the psychological well-being and risk perceptions of exposed women 19-20 years later and the risk factors associated with mental health.

Growing up in the shadow of Chornobyl: adolescents' risk perceptions and mental health.

Purpose: Despite long-term research on risk perceptions of adults after ecological disasters, little is known about the legacy for the generation exposed to toxic elements as infants. This study examined Chornobyl-related risk perceptions and their relationship to mental health in adolescents raised in Kyiv in the aftermath of the accident.

Methods: Risk perceptions, 12-month DSM-IV major depression (MDD)/generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and current symptomatology were examined in 265 evacuee adolescents, 261 classmate controls, and 327 population-based controls 19 years after the accident.

Subjective health legacy of the Chornobyl accident: a comparative study of 19-year olds in Kyiv.

Background: Since the Chornobyl accident in 1986, the physical health of exposed children in Ukraine has been monitored, but their perceived health has not been studied. This study examines health perceptions of Ukrainian adolescents exposed to radioactive fallout in utero or as infants, and the epidemiologic and Chornobyl-related influences on self-reported health.

Method: We assessed three groups of 19-year olds in Kyiv: 262 evacuees from contaminated areas near the plant; 261 classmate controls; and 325 population-based controls.

Determinants of participation in a longitudinal two-stage study of the health consequences of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident.

Background: The determinants of participation in long-term follow-up studies of disasters have rarely been delineated. Even less is known from studies of events that occurred in eastern Europe. We examined the factors associated with participation in a longitudinal two-stage study conducted in Kyiv following the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident.

Descriptive epidemiology of intimate partner aggression in Ukraine.

Aims: Partner aggression is believed to be widespread in Eastern Europe although systematic evidence is sparse. Using data from the World Mental Health (WMH) survey in Ukraine, we present the first population-based findings on the descriptive epidemiology of partner aggression among married adults.

Methods: Married men (n = 558) and women (n = 558) were interviewed with the WMH-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) module assessing aggression in the marriage.

Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

Data are presented on the lifetime prevalence, projected lifetime risk, and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization (WHO)'s World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys. Face-to-face community surveys were conducted in seventeen countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. The combined numbers of respondents were 85,052.

Smoking initiation and nicotine dependence symptoms in Ukraine: findings from the Ukraine World Mental Health survey.

Objectives: Cigarette smoking is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in former Soviet countries. This study examined the personal, familial and psychiatric risk factors for smoking initiation and development of nicotine dependence symptoms in Ukraine.

Study Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Psychiatry in Ukraine.

Ukraine, at 603 700 km, has the second largest landmass in Europe. It has a population of about 47.4 million.

Epidemiology of psychiatric and alcohol disorders in Ukraine: findings from the Ukraine World Mental Health survey.

Background: This study presents the lifetime, 12-month, and 1-month prevalence estimates of nine psychiatric and alcohol disorders in Ukraine assessed as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) research program. The Ukraine WMH survey is the first psychiatric epidemiologic study in a former Soviet Union country to administer a structured psychiatric interview to a nationally representative sample.

Method: In 2002, a national probability sample of 4,725 respondents ages 18 and older were interviewed with the WMH version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI).

Epidemiology of heavy alcohol use in Ukraine: findings from the world mental health survey.

Aims: To describe the epidemiology of heavy alcohol use in Ukraine, using data from the world mental health (WMH) survey in Ukraine.

Methods: The WMH composite international diagnostic interview was administered in 2002 to a national probability sample of Ukrainian adults (n=4725). An algorithm for classifying heavy use in the past year was developed from self-reports about the quantity and frequency of drinking, and its convergent validity was demonstrated.

Prevalence, severity, and unmet need for treatment of mental disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys.

Context: Little is known about the extent or severity of untreated mental disorders, especially in less-developed countries.

Objective: To estimate prevalence, severity, and treatment of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) mental disorders in 14 countries (6 less developed, 8 developed) in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Face-to-face household surveys of 60 463 community adults conducted from 2001-2003 in 14 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Somatic symptoms in women 11 years after the Chornobyl accident: prevalence and risk factors.

Exposure to the Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion resulted in widespread, persistent somatic complaints, but little is known about the nature and risk factors for these conditions. This study compares the health reports of 300 women evacuated to Kyiv from the contamination zone around the plant and 300 controls with a child in the same homeroom as the evacuees in 1997. The interview addressed somatic concerns, risk factors for poor health, and Chornobyl-related stress.