[Patterns of service use for mental health disorders in Belgium. Results of the European Study on Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD)].
OBJECTIVE
To describe patterns of service use for emotional reasons or mental health in adult, non-institutionalised Belgians.


METHODS
A representative random sample of non-institutionalised inhabitants from Belgium aged 18 or older (N = 2419) were interviewed between April 2001 and June 2002. The interview was performed by lay interviewers using the most recent version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-2000). Apart from assessing mental disorders, the participants were asked to report their formal health services utilization due to their emotions or mental health in the past 12 months.


RESULTS
About 11% reported the presence of a mental disorder in the past 12 months, of which one in three consulted a formal health service. Persons with a mood disorder were most likely to seek help (43%), followed by those with anxiety (38%) or an alcohol disorder (17%). General practitioners were consulted most often, sometimes combined with a psychiatrist. Among those who sought help, the majority received pharmacological treatment (sometimes combined with psychological treatment), and up to 25% did not receive any treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
The utilization of formal health services for emotional raisons or mental health is very limited in Belgium. Moreover, a considerable proportion of those who sought help, did not get an appropriate treatment.
Bruffaerts
R
R
Service Psychiatrie, UZ Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Louvain.
Bonnewyn
A
A
Van Oyen
H
H
Demarest
St
S
Demyttenaere
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*