Comparing mental health of francophone populations in Canada, france, and belgium: 12-month prevalence rates of common mental disorders (part 1).
OBJECTIVE
To compare the 12-month prevalence of common mental disorders among francophones in Canada, France, and Belgium. This is the first article in a 2-part series comparing mental disorders and service use prevalence of French-speaking populations.


METHODS
This is a secondary analysis of data from the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being (CCHS 1.2) in 2002 and the European Study of Epidemiology of Mental Disorders-Mental Health Disability (ESEMeD) from 2001 to 2003, where comparable questionnaires were administered to representative samples of adults in Canada, France, and Belgium. In Canada, francophone respondents living in Quebec (n = 7571) and outside Quebec (n = 500) completed the French version of the CCHS 1.2 questionnaire. Francophone respondents in Belgium (n = 389) and in France (n = 1436) completed the French version of the ESEMeD population survey questionnaire. Major depressive episodes (MDEs), specific anxiety disorders (ADs), and alcohol abuse and (or) dependence disorders' rates were assessed.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence rate for the presence of any MDE, AD, or alcohol abuse and (or) dependence was similar in all francophone populations studied in Canada and Europe and averaged 8.5%.


CONCLUSIONS
Mental disorders were equally distributed in all francophone populations studied. Cross-national comparisons continue to be instrumental in providing information useful for the creation of appropriate policies and programs for specific subsets of populations.
Tempier
Raymond
R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. raymond.tempier@usask.ca <raymond.tempier@usask.ca>
Vasiliadis
Helen-Maria
HM
Gilbert
Fabien
F
Demyttenaere
Koen
K
Bruffaerts
Ronny
R
Bonnewyn
Anke
A
Lépine
Jean-Pierre
JP
Gasquet
Isabelle
I
Mosier
Karen
K
Lesage
Alain
A
Puchala
Chassidy
C
Lepnurm
Marje
M
Kovess-Masféty
Viviane
V
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001530:Belgium; D002170:Canada; D015897:Comorbidity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires