Mental Health Disorders Go Underreported

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Maryland, USA) researchers warn that mental disorders in mid-life and older adulthood may be far more prevalent than previously reported. Yoichiro Takayanagi, and colleagues submit that common methods of assessing mental or physical disorders may consistently underestimate the incidence of mental health issues. The team examined retrospective evaluations versus cumulative assessments among older adults.  The study found that the lifetime estimates of mental disorders ascertained by retrospective versus cumulative evaluations were 4.5% versus 13.1% for major depressive disorder; 0.6% versus 7.1% for obsessive-compulsive disorder, 2.5% versus 6.7% for panic disorder, 12.6% versus 25.3% for social phobia, 9.1% versus 25.9% for alcohol abuse or dependence, and 6.7% versus 17.6% for drug abuse or dependence.  Writing that: “One-time, cross-sectional population surveys may consistently underestimate the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders,” the study authors warn that: “The population burden of mental disorders may therefore be substantially higher than previously appreciated.”