Population prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Chile: 6-month and 1-month rates.
BACKGROUND
Few South American studies have examined current prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders.


OBJECTIVE
To examine prevalence rates in a nationally representative adult population from Chile.


METHODS
The Composite International Diagnostic Interview was administered to a stratified random sample of 2978 individuals from four provinces representative of the country's population. Six-month and 1-month prevalence rates were estimated. Demographic correlates, comorbidity and service use were examined.


RESULTS
Nearly a fifth of the Chilean population had had a psychiatric disorder during the preceding 6 months. The 6-month and 1-month prevalence rates were 19.7% and 16.7% respectively. For the 6-month prevalence the five most common disorders were simple phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia, major depressive disorder and alcohol dependence. Less than 30% of those with any psychiatric diagnosis had a comorbid psychiatric disorder and the majority of them had sought treatment from mental health services.


CONCLUSIONS
Current prevalence studies are useful indicators of service needs. People with comorbid psychiatric conditions have high rates of service use. The low rate of comorbidity in Chile merits further study.
Vicente
Benjamin
B
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile. bvicent@udec.cl
Kohn
Robert
R
Rioseco
Pedro
P
Saldivia
Sandra
S
Baker
Christine
C
Torres
Silverio
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors