title: Comparing mental health of francophone populations in Canada, france, and belgium: 12-month prevalence rates of common mental disorders (part 1).
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. raymond.tempier@usask.ca <raymond.tempier@usask.ca>
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tempier
authors.forename: Helen-Maria
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Vasiliadis
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Demyttenaere
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruffaerts
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonnewyn
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lépine
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gasquet
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mosier
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lesage
authors.forename: Chassidy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Puchala
authors.forename: Marje
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lepnurm
authors.forename: Viviane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kovess-Masféty
mesh_terms: 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