Abstract
SummaryBackgroundAddressing the growing burden of mental diseases is a public health priority. Nevertheless, many countries lack reliable estimates of the proportion of the population affected, which are crucial for health and social policy planning. This study aimed to collect existing evidence on the prevalence of mental diseases in Austria.MethodsA systematic review was conducted using MeSH, EMTREE and free-text terms in seven bibliographic databases. In addition, the references of included papers and relevant Austria-specific websites were searched. Articles published after 1996 pertaining to the Austrian adult population and presenting prevalence data for mental diseases were included in the analysis.ResultsA total of 2612 records were identified in the database search, 19 of which were included in the analysis, 13 were community-based studies and 6 examined institutionalized populations. Sample sizes ranged from 200 to 15,474. The evidence was centered around depression (n = 6, 32%), eating disorders (n = 4, 21%) and alcohol dependence (n = 3, 16%). While most studies (n = 10, 53%) used questionnaires and scales to identify mental diseases, seven studies used structured clinical interviews, and two studies examined use of psychotropic drugs. Due to the diversity of methodologies, no statistical pooling of prevalence estimates was possible.ConclusionInformation on the prevalence of mental diseases in Austria is limited and comparability between studies is restricted. A variety of diagnostic instruments, targeted populations and investigated diseases contribute to discrepancies in the prevalence rates. A systematic, large-scale study on the prevalence of mental diseases in Austria is needed for comprehensive and robust epidemiological evidence.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00508-018-1316-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Mental diseases are associated with high economic and societal burden and reduction in the quality of life of those affected [1, 2]
A systematic literature review was carried out to collect all evidence on the epidemiology, i. e. prevalence, incidence and mortality, of mental diseases among the adult population in Austria published between January 1996 and May 2016
First and second-level screening resulted in a total of 19 peer-reviewed articles on the epidemiology of mental diseases in Austria which were included in the analysis
Summary
Mental diseases are associated with high economic and societal burden and reduction in the quality of life of those affected [1, 2]. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, the burden of mental diseases has increased by 38% worldwide between 1990 and 2010 and is continuously growing [3]. On average around 38% of the population of the European Union are affected each year by mental health problems [4]. Evidence from a more recent study, the European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD), showed. K review article that nearly 1 in 10 respondents reported the presence of affective disorders, anxiety disorders and/or alcohol abuse (not including other somatoform disorders or substance abuse) in the past 12 months [7]. A recent meta-analysis showed that the mortality rate among people suffering from mental diseases is more than two times higher compared to the general population or people without mental diseases [8]
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