Depressive disorders in Europe: prevalence figures from the ODIN study.
BACKGROUND
This is the first report on the epidemiology of depressive disorders from the European Outcome of Depression International Network (ODIN) study.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the prevalence of depressive disorders in randomly selected samples of the general population in five European countries.


METHODS
The study was designed as a cross-sectional two-phase community study using the Beck Depression inventory during Phase 1, and the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry during Phase 2.


RESULTS
An analysis of the combined sample (n=8.764) gave an overall prevalence of depressive disorders of 8.56% (95% CI 7.05-10.37). The figures were 10.05% (95% CI 7.80-12.85) for women and 6.61% (95% CI 4.92-8.83) for men. The centres fall into three categories: high prevalence (urban Ireland and urban UK), low prevalence (urban Spain) and medium prevalence (the remaining sites).


CONCLUSIONS
Depressive disorder is a highly prevalent condition in Europe. The major finding is the wide difference in the prevalence of depressive disorders found across the study sites.
Ayuso-Mateos
J L
JL
University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, University of Cantabria, Avd Valdecilla s/n, Santander 39008, Spain.
Vázquez-Barquero
J L
JL
Dowrick
C
C
Lehtinen
V
V
Dalgard
O S
OS
Casey
P
P
Wilkinson
C
C
Lasa
L
L
Page
H
H
Dunn
G
G
Wilkinson
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003158:Community Psychiatry; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population