CG123 Common mental health disorders - National Institute for ...

Common mental health disorderssignificantly on educational and vocational performance. The fears can be triggeredby the actual or imagined scrutiny from others. The disorder often begins in earlyadolescence, and although an individual may recognise the problem as outside ofnormal experience, many do not seek help (Liebowitz et al., 1985).Social anxiety disorder is characterised by a range of physical symptoms includingexcessive blushing, sweating, trembling, palpitations and nausea. Panic attacksare common, as is the development of depressive symptoms as the problem becomeschronic. Alcohol or drug misuse can develop because people use these substances inan attempt to cope with the disturbing and disabling symptoms. It is also often comorbidwith other disorders such as depression (Kessler et al., 1999).Specific phobiasA specific phobia is an unwarranted, extreme and persistent fear of a specific objector situation that is out of proportion to the actual danger or threat (Humphris et al.,1995). The fear and anxiety occur immediately upon encountering the feared objector situation and tend to lead to avoidance or extreme discomfort. The person with aspecific phobia recognises that the fear is excessive, unwarranted or out of proportionto the actual risk. Specific phobias result in significant interference with the activitiesof daily life; they are usually grouped under a number of subtypes including animal,natural environment, blood-injection-injury and situational.2.2.2 Incidence and prevalenceEstimates of the prevalence of common mental health disorders vary considerablydepending on where and when surveys are carried out, and the period over whichprevalence is measured.The 2007 Office for National Statistics (ONS) household survey of adult psychiatricmorbidity in England found that 16.2% of adults aged 16 to 64 years met thediagnostic criteria for at least one disorder in the week prior to interview (McManuset al., 2009). In the three ONS surveys carried out so far, the proportion of adultsmeeting the criteria for at least one disorder increased between 1993 and 2000 but didnot change between 2000 and 2007 (15.5% in 1993, 17.5% in 2000 and 17.6% in2007). The largest increase in the rate of disorders found between 1993 and 2007 wasin women aged 45 to 64 years, among whom the rate went up by about one fifth(McManus et al., 2009).More than half of the adults identified with a common mental health disorder inthe ONS survey presented with a mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (9% in thepast week). The 1-week prevalence for the other common mental health disorderswere 4.4% for GAD, 2.3% for a depressive episode, 1.4% for phobia, 1.1% for OCDand 1.1% for panic disorder (McManus et al., 2009).In the US, Kessler and colleagues conducted the National Comorbidity Survey, arepresentative household interview survey of 9,282 adults aged 18 years and over, toestimate the lifetime (Kessler et al., 2005a) and 12-month (Kessler et al., 2005b)prevalence rates of mental disorders classified using the Diagnostic and Statistical17