Prevalence of mental illness in homeless men in Munich, Germany: results from a representative sample.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was a reliable assessment of the prevalence of DSM-IV mental disorders in a representative sample of homeless men in the city of Munich.


METHODS
A preliminary survey yielded an estimate of 1,022 single homeless men in Munich divided among three sectors (shelter users, service users and street dwellers). A random sample of 265 single homeless men was surveyed from these three sectors. An age-matched comparison group of 178 men was selected randomly from a community register. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV) was used for diagnostic classification.


RESULTS
The lifetime prevalence rates of mental disorders were as follows: 72.7% vs. 15.2% for alcohol dependence, 32.8% vs. 7.3% for mood disorders, 15.9% vs. 6.2% for anxiety disorders and 9.8% vs. 0.6% for psychotic disorders. Of the homeless males in Munich, 93.2% had at least one lifetime DSM-IV axis I diagnosis, while this was the case for only 38.2% of the community controls. One-month prevalence for all SCID DSM-IV axis I disorders in homeless males was 73.4%.


CONCLUSIONS
Lifetime DSM-IV axis I mental disorders were 2.4 times more frequent among homeless individuals compared to community control. Implications for health care planning are discussed.
Fichter
M M
MM
Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany.
Quadflieg
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index