Epidemiology of major depressive episode in a southern European country: Results from the ESEMeD-Spain project
Por:
Gabilondo A, Rojas-Farreras S, Vilagut G, Haro JM, Fernández A, Pinto-Meza A and Alonso J
Publicada:
1 ene 2010
Resumen:
Background: Information of the epidemiology of Major Depressive Episode
(MDE) in Spain,one of the biggest southern European countries, is scarce
and heterogeneous. The objective of this study was to assess the
epidemiology of the disorder in the Spanish sample of the ESEMeD
project.
Methods: The ESEMED-Spain project is a cross-sectional, general
population, household survey conducted with a representative sample of
Spanish non-institutionalized adult population. The survey instrument
was the CIDI 3.0, a structured diagnostic interview to assess disorders
and treatment.
Results: Lifetime prevalence was 10.6% while 12-month prevalence was
4.0%. A monotonic increase in lifetime overall prevalence was found
from the youngest to the 50-64 cohort, declining then in the oldest
group. Median age of onset was 30.0. Being a woman (OR = 2.7),
previously married (OR = 1.8), unemployed or disabled to work (OR = 2.9)
was associated to higher risk of 12-month-MDE. The highest comorbid
associations were with dysthymia (OR = 73.1) and panic disorder (OR =
41.8).
Limitations: 1. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by trained lay
interviewers and this could have an imperfect sensitivity/specificity:
2. Individuals with mental illness could have more frequently rejected
to participate in the survey; 3. Age-related recall bias could have
affected the accuracy of age of onset estimates.
Conclusions: The study shows that prevalence MDE in Spain is lower than
in other Western countries. Important findings are the early age of
onset, the high proportion of chronicity, and the high female/male
ratio. Taken together, results offer a complex picture of the
epidemiology of MDE in Spain, when compared to other countries in
Europe. The role of cultural factors is discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier
B.V. All rights reserved.
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