title: Importance of thinking locally for mental health: data from cross-sectional surveys representing South East London and England.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reliance on national figures may be underestimating the extent of mental ill health in urban communities. This study demonstrates the necessity for local information on common mental disorder (CMD) and substance use by comparing data from the South East London Community Health (SELCoH) study with those from a national study, the 2007 English Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Study (APMS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were used from two cross-sectional surveys, 1698 men and women residing in south London and 7403 men and women in England. The main outcome, CMD, was indicated by a score of 12 or above on the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule. Secondary outcomes included hazardous alcohol use and illicit drug use. SELCoH sample prevalence estimates of CMD were nearly twice that of the APMS England sample estimates. There was a four-fold greater proportion of depressive episode in the SELCoH sample than the APMS sample. The prevalence of hazardous alcohol use was higher in the national sample. Illicit drug use in the past year was higher in the SELCoH sample, with cannabis and cocaine the illicit drugs reported most frequently in both samples. In comparisons of the SELCoH sample with the APMS England sample and the APMS sample from the Greater London area in combined datasets, these differences remained after adjusting for socio-demographic and socioeconomic indicators for all outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Local information for estimating the prevalence of CMD and substance use is essential for surveillance and service planning. There were similarities in the demographic and socioeconomic factors related to CMD and substance use across samples.
authors.affiliation: King's College London, Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom. stephani.hatch@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Stephani L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hatch
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Woodhead
authors.forename: Souci
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frissa
authors.forename: Nicola T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Fear
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verdecchia
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reichenberg
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bebbington
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.forename: Traolach
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brugha
authors.forename: Bwalya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kankulu
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Billy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gazard
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Medcalf
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hotopf
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*