title: Brazilian multicentric study of psychiatric morbidity. Methodological features and prevalence estimates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Psychiatric morbidity studies in developing countries have used diagnostic procedures of low reliability, without a clinical definition of caseness, producing descriptive data with limited application for mental health planning.
  
  
  METHODS
  A two-stage cross-sectional design (with a sample size of 6476) was conducted to estimate the prevalence of DSM-III psychiatric diagnoses in three metropolitan areas of Brazil (Brasília, São Paulo and Porto Alegre). All subjects were screened for the presence of psychopathology with a 44-item instrument (the QMPA) and a subsample was selected for a psychiatric interview.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age-adjusted prevalence of cases potentially in need of care ranged from 19% (São Paulo) to 34% (Brasília and Porto Alegre). Anxiety disorders comprised the highest prevalences (up to 18%). Alcoholism yielded the most consistent prevalence levels, around 8% in all sites. Depression showed great variation between areas: from less than 3% (São Paulo and Brasília) to 10% (Porto Alegre).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall prevalences were high in comparison with previous studies conducted in Brazil. A female excess of non-psychotic disorders (anxiety, phobias, somatisation and depression) and a male excess for alcoholism were consistently found.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Saúde Coletiva at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Almeida-Filho
authors.forename: J de J
authors.initials: Jde J
authors.lastname: Mari
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: França
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Andreoli
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Busnello
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009017:Morbidity; D015995:Prevalence