Brazilian multicentric study of psychiatric morbidity. Methodological features and prevalence estimates.
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.
Almeida-Filho
N
N
Instituto de Saúde Coletiva at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.
Mari
J de J
Jde J
Coutinho
E
E
França
J F
JF
Fernandes
J
J
Andreoli
S B
SB
Busnello
E D
ED
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