Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in an Italian town: low prevalence confirmed with two different interviews.
BACKGROUND
In Italy, few studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders have considered all of the most common disorders and very few have adopted the most common tools, that is, the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the Present State Examination (PSE). The objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and its correlates in the town of Jesi, Italy, using the PSE and CIDI, administered 7 years apart.


METHODS
The two surveys were conducted among adults in Jesi (central Italy), using the PSE in 1993 and the CIDI in 2000. Participants were randomly chosen from the patient lists of general practitioners.


RESULTS
The one-month prevalence of persons with a psychiatric disorder was 7.3% (95% CI: 4.4-11.6) in 1993 and 6.0% (95% CI: 3.5-9.5) in 2000. The lifetime and 1-year prevalence rates were 21.0 and 8.2%, respectively. The most common disorders were depressive and anxiety disorders. Mood and anxiety disorders were more common among women and unmarried persons.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence is lower than that in most other areas of the world yet consistent with estimates for Italian populations reported by studies using the same (or similar) tools.
Gigantesco
Antonella
A
Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
Palumbo
Gabriella
G
Mirabella
Fiorino
F
Pettinelli
Mario
M
Morosini
Pierluigi
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods*; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data