Childhood generalized specific phobia as an early marker of internalizing psychopathology across the lifespan: results from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Specific phobia (SP) is a relatively common disorder associated with high levels of psychiatric comorbidity. Because of its early onset, SP may be a useful early marker of internalizing psychopathology, especially if generalized to multiple situations. This study aimed to evaluate the association of childhood generalized SP with comorbid internalizing disorders.

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.

WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders.

Increasingly, colleges across the world are contending with rising rates of mental disorders, and in many cases, the demand for services on campus far exceeds the available resources. The present study reports initial results from the first stage of the WHO World Mental Health International College Student project, in which a series of surveys in 19 colleges across 8 countries (Australia, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Spain, United States) were carried out with the aim of estimating prevalence and basic sociodemographic correlates of common mental disorders among first-year college students. Web-based self-report questionnaires administered to incoming first-year students (45.

Severe role impairment associated with mental disorders: Results of the WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project.

Background: College entrance is a stressful period with a high prevalence of mental disorders.

Aims: To assess the role impairment associated with 12-month mental disorders among incoming first-year college students within a large cross-national sample.

Methods: Web-based self-report surveys assessing the prevalence of DSM-IV mental disorders and health-related role impairment (Sheehan Disability Scale) were obtained and analyzed from 13,984 incoming first-year college students (Response = 45.

Association Between Muscular Strength and Cognition in People With Major Depression or Bipolar Disorder and Healthy Controls.

Importance: Objective physical fitness measures, such as handgrip strength, are associated with physical, mental, and cognitive outcomes in the general population. Although people with mental illness experience reduced physical fitness and cognitive impairment, the association between muscular strength and cognition has not been examined to date.

Objective: To determine associations between maximal handgrip strength and cognitive performance in people with major depression or bipolar disorder and in healthy controls.

Psychotic experiences and general medical conditions: a cross-national analysis based on 28 002 respondents from 16 countries in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Previous work has identified associations between psychotic experiences (PEs) and general medical conditions (GMCs), but their temporal direction remains unclear as does the extent to which they are independent of comorbid mental disorders.

Methods: In total, 28 002 adults in 16 countries from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys were assessed for PEs, GMCs and 21 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) mental disorders. Discrete-time survival analyses were used to estimate the associations between PEs and GMCs with various adjustments.

Treatment gap for anxiety disorders is global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 countries.

Background: Anxiety disorders are a major cause of burden of disease. Treatment gaps have been described, but a worldwide evaluation is lacking. We estimated, among individuals with a 12-month DSM-IV (where DSM is Diagnostic Statistical Manual) anxiety disorder in 21 countries, the proportion who (i) perceived a need for treatment; (ii) received any treatment; and (iii) received possibly adequate treatment.

Complementary and alternative medicine contacts by persons with mental disorders in 25 countries: results from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Aims: A substantial proportion of persons with mental disorders seek treatment from complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professionals. However, data on how CAM contacts vary across countries, mental disorders and their severity, and health care settings is largely lacking. The aim was therefore to investigate the prevalence of contacts with CAM providers in a large cross-national sample of persons with 12-month mental disorders.

Socio-economic variations in the mental health treatment gap for people with anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys.

Background: The treatment gap between the number of people with mental disorders and the number treated represents a major public health challenge. We examine this gap by socio-economic status (SES; indicated by family income and respondent education) and service sector in a cross-national analysis of community epidemiological survey data.

Methods: Data come from 16 753 respondents with 12-month DSM-IV disorders from community surveys in 25 countries in the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

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.

Trauma and psychotic experiences: transnational data from the World Mental Health Survey.

Traumatic events are associated with increased risk of psychotic experiences, but it is unclear whether this association is explained by mental disorders prior to psychotic experience onset.To investigate the associations between traumatic events and subsequent psychotic experience onset after adjusting for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders.We assessed 29 traumatic event types and psychotic experiences from the World Mental Health surveys and examined the associations of traumatic events with subsequent psychotic experience onset with and without adjustments for mental disorders.

Previous Mental Disorders and Subsequent Onset of Chronic Back or Neck Pain: Findings From 19 Countries.

Unlabelled: Associations between depression/anxiety and pain are well established, but its directionality is not clear. We examined the associations between temporally previous mental disorders and subsequent self-reported chronic back/neck pain onset, and investigated the variation in the strength of associations according to timing of events during the life course, and according to gender. Data were from population-based household surveys conducted in 19 countries (N = 52,095).

Estimating treatment coverage for people with substance use disorders: an analysis of data from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Substance use is a major cause of disability globally. This has been recognized in the recent United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in which treatment coverage for substance use disorders is identified as one of the indicators. There have been no estimates of this treatment coverage cross-nationally, making it difficult to know what is the baseline for that SDG target.

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.

Recovery from DSM-IV post-traumatic stress disorder in the WHO World Mental Health surveys.

Background: Research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) course finds a substantial proportion of cases remit within 6 months, a majority within 2 years, and a substantial minority persists for many years. Results are inconsistent about pre-trauma predictors.

Methods: The WHO World Mental Health surveys assessed lifetime DSM-IV PTSD presence-course after one randomly-selected trauma, allowing retrospective estimates of PTSD duration.

Post-traumatic stress disorder associated with sexual assault among women in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Sexual assault is a global concern with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one of the common sequelae. Early intervention can help prevent PTSD, making identification of those at high risk for the disorder a priority. Lack of representative sampling of both sexual assault survivors and sexual assaults in prior studies might have reduced the ability to develop accurate prediction models for early identification of high-risk sexual assault survivors.

The association between psychotic experiences and disability: results from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Objective: While psychotic experiences (PEs) are known to be associated with a range of mental and general medical disorders, little is known about the association between PEs and measures of disability. We aimed to investigate this question using the World Mental Health surveys.

Method: Lifetime occurrences of six types of PEs were assessed along with 21 mental disorders and 14 general medical conditions.

The association between childhood adversities and subsequent first onset of psychotic experiences: a cross-national analysis of 23 998 respondents from 17 countries.

Background: Although there is robust evidence linking childhood adversities (CAs) and an increased risk for psychotic experiences (PEs), little is known about whether these associations vary across the life-course and whether mental disorders that emerge prior to PEs explain these associations.

Method: We assessed CAs, PEs and DSM-IV mental disorders in 23 998 adults in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to investigate the associations between CAs and PEs, and the influence of mental disorders on these associations using multivariate logistic models.

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.

Mental disorders among college students in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Although mental disorders are significant predictors of educational attainment throughout the entire educational career, most research on mental disorders among students has focused on the primary and secondary school years.

Method: The World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys were used to examine the associations of mental disorders with college entry and attrition by comparing college students (n = 1572) and non-students in the same age range (18-22 years; n = 4178), including non-students who recently left college without graduating (n = 702) based on surveys in 21 countries (four low/lower-middle income, five upper-middle-income, one lower-middle or upper-middle at the times of two different surveys, and 11 high income). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence and age-of-onset of DSM-IV anxiety, mood, behavioral and substance disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).