The epidemiology of mental disorders in Sweden

Abstract

This article reviews some prominent features and results of research in the field of psychiatric epidemiology in Sweden. The interest in doing epidemiological research has grown from an interest in genetics, an interest in social psychiatric issues, and a need to investigate the epidemiology of mental illness in the perspective of needs for care and planning of resources for psychiatric services. The article mentions some of the early studies in epidemiology regarding psychiatric morbidity in the community but has an emphasis on later studies, some of them still ongoing. Investigations of prevalence of psychiatric morbidity within the health care system have been scarce in Sweden, but results from some of the major studies are given.