[Prevalence of pure and comorbid mental disorders in Belgium].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the 12-month and lifetime prevalence rates of pure and comorbid mental disorders in Belgium.


METHODS
A representative random sample of non-institutionalized inhabitants from Belgium aged 18 or older (N = 2419) was interviewed between April 2001 and June 2002. DSM-IV disorders were assessed by lay interviewers using a revised version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-2000).


RESULTS
More than 27% reported a lifetime history of at least one mental disorder; one in nine reported the presence of a mental disorder in the past 12 months. Major depressive disorder (MDD) and alcohol abuse were the most common lifetime disorders; MDD and specific phobia were most common in the past 12 months. Psychiatric comorbidity was also a common condition.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychiatric disorders in Belgium are frequent. More than two million Belgians have had a mental disorders at a certain moment in their life; more than 800,000 have had a mental disorder in the past 12 months.
Service de Psychiatrie, UZ Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Louvain.
R
R
Bruffaerts
A
A
Bonnewyn
H
H
Van Oyen
St
S
Demarest
K
K
Demyttenaere
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors