Psychiatric epidemiology important in the developing world

The authors of a recent review conclude that psychiatric epidemiology is important for developing countries and that conducting high-quality epidemiological research in such countries is possible.A review of research published between June 2004 and June 2005 found a number of large-scale general population epidemiological studies from a number of developing countries, with interesting new findings, the authors say.The World Mental Health Survey, which included six less developed and eight developed countries, revealed wide variations in the pattern and prevalence of mental disorders across countries.Many studies were conducted in response to specific situations such as long-term conflict, terrorism or natural disasters.In addition, a number of epidemiological studies have focused on specific population groups, such as the elderly, pregnant women, medical students and survivors of disasters.The authors state that mental health professionals in developing countries often report that it is difficult to apply classification systems that are based largely on frequency of symptoms from Western studies. They add that understanding the differences and delineating psychiatric syndromes would require a major effort by these professionals. Despite this, there have been a limited number of studies conducted in this area.Although the findings of numerous studies focusing on the multi-factorial causation of mental disorders have provided "a window into the possibilities for understanding the factors modulating the occurrence of mental disorders," there is a clear need for large-scale and longitudinal studies in this area, say the authors.Research into health services, in particular understanding their utilisation and the treatment gap is important in developing countries, say the authors. However, as a result of the complexity of measurement and the need for longitudinal studies there have been limited studies in this area. The authors state that there is limited long-term research on specific conditions. In addition, there is an urgent need for child psychiatric research and the evaluation of effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions.The authors conclude that the growing capacity of the researchers, the increasing range of issues studied and the increasing quality of research in developing countries augur well for the future.Reference...