Cited by 716Mental Health Treatment and AccessAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesPsychological Treatments and Disorders

Treatment gap for anxiety disorders is global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 countries

Open access
Alonso, Jordi, Liu, Zhaorui, Evans-Lacko, Sara, Sadikova, Ekaterina, Sampson, Nancy, Chatterji, Somnath, Abdulmalik, Jibril, Aguilar-Gaxiola, Sergio +26 more·2018·Depression and Anxiety

Abstract

Background: Anxiety disorders are a major cause of burden of disease. Treatment gaps have been described, but a worldwide evaluation is lacking. We estimated, among individuals with a 12-month DSM-IV (where DSM is Diagnostic Statistical Manual) anxiety disorder in 21 countries, the proportion who (i) perceived a need for treatment; (ii) received any treatment; and (iii) received possibly adequate treatment. Methods: Data from 23 community surveys in 21 countries of the World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. DSM-IV mental disorders were assessed (WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview, CIDI 3.0). DSM-IV included posttraumatic stress disorder among anxiety disorders, while it is not considered so in the DSM-5. We asked if, in the previous 12 months, respondents felt they needed professional treatment and if they obtained professional treatment (specialized/general medical, complementary alternative medical, or nonmedical professional) for “problems with emotions, nerves, mental health, or use of alcohol or drugs.” Possibly adequate treatment was defined as receiving pharmacotherapy (1+ months of medication and 4+ visits to a medical doctor) or psychotherapy, complementary alternative medicine or nonmedical care (8+ visits). Results: Of 51,547 respondents (response = 71.3%), 9.8% had a 12-month DSM-IV anxiety disorder, 27.6% of whom received any treatment, and only 9.8% received possibly adequate treatment. Of those with 12-month anxiety only 41.3% perceived a need for care. Lower treatment levels were found for lower income countries. Conclusions: Low levels of service use and a high proportion of those receiving services not meeting adequacy standards for anxiety disorders exist worldwide. Results suggest the need for improving recognition of anxiety disorders and the quality of treatment. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/da.22711

Cites

37 of 37 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

10 of 20 cited sources checked · 4 supported · 1 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

  • Premisecitation

    Less than 15% of people with diagnosed anxiety receive treatment conforming to evidence-based recommendations.

    “Importantly, the proportion of patients with anxiety disorders who receive adequate treatment is still much lower (Roberge et al., 2015; Kasteenpohja et al., 2016), even in the US, with less than 15% of people with diagnosed anxiety receiving treatment which conforms with evidence-based recommendations (Roberge et al., 2015; Kasteenpohja et al., 2016).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim2 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Roberge et al., 2015 source

      The Discussion reports that 36.2% of patients with generalized anxiety disorder in this primary-care sample met overall minimal treatment-adequacy standards; 12.9% met the separate psychotherapy standard. The Background also reports US treatment-adequacy rates for GAD above 15%. The cited paper therefore does not support the claim that fewer than 15% received adequate treatment overall. (LLM, conf=0.88)

      Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Kasteenpohja et al., 2016 source

      The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that about 14% of all participants with anxiety disorders in the earlier NCS-R survey received minimally adequate treatment, supporting the less-than-15% figure for that survey. But the paper's own Results report 41.8% among young adults in Finland, so the figure is not a general finding of this study; the cited passage also does not explicitly identify the NCS-R survey as US-based. (LLM, conf=0.88)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Interpretationcitation

    The treatment gap for anxiety disorders is even higher than that described for major depressive disorder.

    “This finding is consistent with previous studies, and it suggests that the treatment gap for anxiety disorders is even higher than that described for MDD (Thornicroft et al., 2017).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Thornicroft et al., 2017 source
  • Premisecitation

    Even in high-income countries, only about a third of individuals with anxiety disorders receive any treatment.

    “Even in high income countries, only about a third of individuals with anxiety disorders receive any treatment (Alonso et al., 2004; Hamalainen, Isometsa, Sihvo, & Pirkola, 2008), with the exception of the United States, where treatment rates are considerably higher (Olson, Marcus, Wan, & Geissler, 2004).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Alonso et al., 2004 source
    • cites Hamalainen, Isometsa, Sihvo, & Pirkola, 2008 source
  • Findingown data

    27.6% of individuals with a 12-month anxiety disorder received any treatment in the previous year.

    “27.6% of whom received any treatment”
    • Also stated in: § RESULTS · plain
      “This was just over a quarter (27.6%, ranging from 36.3% in high income countries to 13.1% in low/middle-income countries).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Service use reported for problems with emotions, nerves, mental health, or use of alcohol or drugs was treatment for the respondent's anxiety disorder.
  • Findingown data

    Among individuals with anxiety without comorbidity, 26.3% perceived a need for treatment, compared with 55.2% among those with comorbidity (p<.001).

    “Among those without comorbidity, perception of need for treatment was considerably lower than among those with comorbidity (overall, 26.3 vs 55.2%, p<.001)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 16
  • May combine two claims. 13
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Anxiety disorders are frequent, with lifetime prevalence ranging between 5 and 25% and 12-month prevalence between 3.3 and 20.4% worldwide.

    “Anxiety disorders are frequent (lifetime prevalence ranging between 5 and 25 % of the population, and a 12-month prevalence ranging between 3.3 and 20.4%, worldwide)(Kessler et al., 2009).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Kessler et al., 2009 source

      The 'Disorder prevalence estimates in the WMH surveys' section says anxiety disorders are the most prevalent class of mental disorders and that estimates vary widely across countries. It reports averages and interquartile ranges, but not the claimed lifetime range of 5–25% or 12-month range of 3.3–20.4%; those precise bounds are not supported by the passages in our copy. Page numbers were unavailable. (LLM, conf=0.84)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Anxiety disorders cause 10.4% of DALYs lost due to neurological, mental, substance use disorders and 1.1% of the global burden of disease.

    “Anxiety disorders cause 10.4% of the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) lost due to neurological, mental, substance use disorders and account for 1.1% of the global burden of disease worldwide, that is a total of 26,800,000 DALYs worldwide (Whiteford, Ferrari, Degenhardt, Feigin, & Vos, 2015).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Whiteford, Ferrari, Degenhardt, Feigin, & Vos, 2015 source
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    CBT and SSRIs are effective treatments for anxiety disorders.

    “Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective treatments for anxiety disorders (Hoffman & Smits, 2008; Koen & Stein, 2011).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim2 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Hoffman & Smits, 2008 source

      The Conclusions report strong evidence that CBT is effective for adult anxiety disorders. The paper does not establish that SSRIs are effective; its analysis compares CBT with placebo, not SSRIs. A search for SSRIs found no passage supporting that part of the sentence. (LLM, conf=0.88)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Koen & Stein, 2011 source

      The Generalized anxiety disorder and Social anxiety disorder sections describe SSRIs as effective treatments. The Social anxiety disorder section discusses enhancing CBT, but does not itself establish the broader claim that CBT is effective for anxiety disorders generally. Page numbers were not supplied in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductcitation

    The definition of possibly adequate treatment was broad and did not include specific psychotherapeutic techniques or medication type.

    “We also used a broad definition of possibly adequate treatment. On one hand, this definition did not include specific effective psychotherapeutic techniques, such as mindfulness meditation (Vollestad, Nielsen, & Nielsen, 2012), which could have led to an underestimation of adequacy.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Vollestad, Nielsen, & Nielsen, 2012 source
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    In DSM-5, PTSD is no longer considered an anxiety disorder.

    “It is important to note that in the current Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM5) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is no longer considered an anxiety disorder (as it was in the previous version, the DSM-IV).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites American Psychiatric Association, 2013 source

      The passages labelled 11 September 2026 discuss depression, and the References passage does not address PTSD classification. Searches for PTSD as an anxiety disorder and for its classification under trauma- and stressor-related disorders found no relevant passage in our copy, which appears to contain WHO material rather than DSM-5 text. (LLM, conf=0.75)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Perceived need for treatment was higher in high-income countries (48%) and showed a gradient across country income types, with a minimum of 28.5% in lower-middle income countries.

    “Self-perception of need for treatment was higher in high-income countries (48%) with a clear gradient across country types, with a minimum of 28.5% in lower-middle income countries.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    12-month anxiety prevalence was similar in high-income (10.3%) and upper-middle income (10.6%) countries but lower in low/lower-middle income countries (7.9%).

    “Prevalence figures were similar for high-income (10.3%) and upper-middle income (10.6%) countries, but lower for low-/lower-middle-income countries (7.9%).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Among individuals with anxiety who perceived a need, 20.5% of those without comorbidity and 34.5% of those with comorbidity received possibly adequate treatment (p<.001).

    “Among individuals who perceived a need for help, the proportion receiving possibly adequate treatment varied among those without comorbidity and those with comorbidity (20.5% and 34.5%, respectively, p<.001).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: For pharmacotherapy, supervision and control of medication is required.
  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Low levels of service use and a high proportion of treated cases not meeting adequacy standards for anxiety disorders exist worldwide.

    “Low levels of service use and a high proportion of those receiving services not meeting adequacy standards for anxiety disorders exist worldwide.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • The authors state this as an assumption: For pharmacotherapy, supervision and control of medication is required.
    • Rests on an assumption: Service use reported for problems with emotions, nerves, mental health, or use of alcohol or drugs was treatment for the respondent's anxiety disorder.
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    Anxiety disorders are a major cause of burden of disease.

    “Anxiety disorders are a major cause of burden of disease.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Current 3-month prevalence of anxiety disorders is estimated at 7.3% worldwide (4.8-10.9%), ranging from 5.3% in African settings to 10.4% in Euro/Anglo settings.

    “When adjusted for methodological differences, current (3-month) prevalence is estimated at 7.3% worldwide (4.8–10.9%), ranging from 5.3% (3.5–8.1%) in African settings to 10.4% (7.0–15.5%) in Euro/Anglo settings(Baxter, Scott, Vos, & Whiteford, 2013).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Baxter, Scott, Vos, & Whiteford, 2013 source
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Anxiety disorders are associated with significant disability.

    “Because of their relatively high prevalence, their tendency towards chronicity and substantial comorbidity, anxiety disorders are associated with significant disability (Harter, Conway, & Merikangas, 2003; Saha, Stedman, Scott, & McGrath, 2013).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Harter, Conway, & Merikangas, 2003 source
    • cites Saha, Stedman, Scott, & McGrath, 2013 source
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    The analyses do not allow conclusions about specific barriers contributing to the treatment gap.

    “Finally, while results show that a significant proportion of individuals with anxiety disorders do not perceive a need for treatment, our analyses do not allow us to draw conclusions about the specific barriers that may be contributing to the treatment gap for anxiety disorders.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    The study did not consider severity of anxiety disorder.

    “Additionally, we did not consider severity of anxiety disorder, which could have allowed to estimate whether international differences in use of services are influenced by variation in severity of anxiety disorders.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductcitation

    The WMH CIDI translation, back-translation, and harmonization protocol required culturally competent bilingual clinicians to review, modify, and approve key symptom phrases.

    “The WMH CIDI interview translation, back-translation, and harmonization protocol required culturally competent bilingual clinicians to review, modify, and approve key phrases describing symptoms (Harkness et al., 2008).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Harkness et al., 2008

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductnone given

    Survey sampling weights were applied so that respondents reflected nationally representative samples in terms of sociodemographic characteristics within each country.

    “Survey sampling weights were applied in all analyses so that respondents reflected nationally representative samples in terms of sociodemographic characteristics within each country.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductcitation

    Service use was evaluated over a one-year period, which may underestimate longer-run utilization.

    “Another limitation is that we evaluated service use over a one-year period. This might underestimate utilization of services in the longer run, as there is some evidence that individuals with persistent symptoms of common mental disorders tend to use services if followed for a longer period than one year (Baldwin et al., 2014).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Baldwin et al., 2014 source
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    Standard errors were estimated using Taylor series linearization to adjust for weighting and clustering.

    “Standard errors were estimated using the Taylor series linearization method implemented in the SAS software survey procedures to adjust weighting and clustering.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.

    Study design and conductown data

    Response rates across surveys ranged from 45.9% to 97.2%, with a weighted average of 70.1% across all surveys and 71.3% overall.

    “Response rates ranged between 45.9% and 97.2% and had a weighted average of 70.1% across all surveys.”
    • Also stated in: § RESULTS · plain
      “The overall weighted response rate was 71.3%.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductcitation

    Diagnoses based on the CIDI showed good concordance with blinded SCID clinical reappraisal interviews in four countries.

    “Blinded clinical reappraisal interviews with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (First, Spitzer, Gibbon, & Williams, 2002) were carried out in four countries. Good concordance was found with diagnoses based on the CIDI (Haro et al., 2006).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Haro et al., 2006 source
  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductcitation

    CIDI diagnostic accuracy may vary in lower income countries because agreement studies were conducted almost exclusively in high-income countries.

    “Although acceptable agreement between CIDI diagnoses and diagnoses made during blind clinical re-interviews (Haro et al., 2006) was achieved, these studies were conducted almost exclusively in high income countries. It remains possible that the accuracy of CIDI anxiety diagnoses could vary in lower income countries.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Haro et al., 2006 source
  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    Service use relied on self-report and could not be corroborated with administrative records.

    “Third, we relied on self-reported data for use of services, and we were not able to corroborate responses with administrative records.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    For some sub-analyses, the number of respondents for some countries was small, making results less stable and reliable.

    “Also, even though the WMH surveys included a large number of respondents, for some specific sub-analyses, the number of respondents included for some countries was small, rendering results less stable and reliable.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
23 of 23
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    For pharmacotherapy, supervision and control of medication is required.

    “as we assume that for pharmacotherapy treatment supervision and control of medication is required”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Service use reported for problems with emotions, nerves, mental health, or use of alcohol or drugs was treatment for the respondent's anxiety disorder.

    “Fourth, we considered those reporting using services “for problems with emotions, nerves, mental health or use of alcohol of drugs” as receiving treatment. It may well be that the treatment received was not addressing their anxiety disorder.”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Most adults who meet diagnostic criteria for depression and anxiety do not access treatment.

    “Unfortunately, most adults who meet diagnostic criteria for depression and anxiety do not access treatment [1213].”

    From Needs and Expectations for the myNewWay Blended Digital and Face-to-Face Psychotherapy Model of Care for Depression and Anxiety (Part 2): Participatory Design Study including Mental Health Professionals (2025) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Results report that only 27.6% of adults meeting DSM-IV criteria for a 12-month anxiety disorder received any treatment in the previous year. The Discussion mentions undertreatment of depression, but does not establish that most adults with depression received no treatment. The claim also omits the study’s one-year treatment window. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Many people who require mental healthcare in LMICs do not receive adequate and accessible care.

    “Despite this high need for mental healthcare in such settings, many who require support do not receive adequate and accessible care”

    From Evaluating a stepped care model of psychological support for adults affected by adversity: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial in Jordan (2024) · cites this paper as [4]

    The Results report that, among people with anxiety disorders who perceived a need for care, fewer received treatment in lower-middle-income countries than in high-income countries. The Discussion also finds that fewer than one in ten people with anxiety disorders received possibly adequate treatment and that the gap was wider in less wealthy countries. This supports the concern about access and adequacy in LMICs, but the study's own findings concern anxiety disorders, not everyone requiring mental healthcare. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Around 40-60% of people with mental health conditions perceive a need for treatment but are not able to access any care.

    “Around 40-60% of people with mental health conditions perceive a need for treatment but are not able to access any care.(1-3)”

    From The impact of digital interventions on help-seeking behaviour for mental health problems: a systematic literature review (2022) · cites this paper as [1]

    The Results report that 41.3% of people with a 12-month anxiety disorder perceived a need for treatment, and 66.8% of those people received some treatment—so 33.2%, not 40–60%, received none. The study concerns anxiety disorders rather than all mental health conditions. The Discussion also says it did not establish which barriers prevented treatment, so lack of care cannot necessarily be described as inability to access it. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • A much smaller proportion of people with mental health conditions access adequate care and support.

    “A much smaller proportion access adequate care and support.(1-3)”

    From The impact of digital interventions on help-seeking behaviour for mental health problems: a systematic literature review (2022) · cites this paper as [1]

    The Discussion (page not provided) reports that fewer than 1 in 10 people with anxiety disorders received possibly adequate treatment in the previous year. This supports a low rate of adequate care for anxiety disorders, but the study does not establish the rate for all mental health conditions or for support beyond treatment. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • In the World Mental Health Survey, 36.3% of respondents in high-income countries who reported an anxiety disorder received help, whereas only 13% of those in LMICs reported receiving assistance.

    “evidence from the World Mental Health Survey found that whereas 36.3% of respondents in high-income countries in the World Mental Health Survey who reported an anxiety disorder received help, only 13% of those in LMICs reported receiving assistance.4”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Overall response-rate average conflicts with abstract

    Major

    The abstract reports an overall response rate of 71.3%, but the methods section later states a weighted average response rate of 70.1% across all surveys. These are presented as the overall study response rate and cannot both be the same overall figure without clarification.

  • Overall response rate has two values

    Minor

    The methods give a weighted average response rate of 70.1% across all surveys, while the results give an overall weighted response rate of 71.3%.

  • National-survey count conflicts with the listed local samples

    Minor

    The methods list 10 surveys restricted to urban areas, selected regions, or metropolitan areas. That leaves at most 14 of the 24 surveys nationally representative, rather than 17.

3 of 3

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

4 of the 41 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), 1993, Depression Guideline Panel: Vol. 2, treatment of major depression, Clinical Practice Guideline, No. 5
  2. First, 2002, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, Research Version, Nonpatient Edition (SCID-I/NP)
  3. Heeringa, 2008, The WHO World Mental Health Surveys: Global perspectives on the epidemiology of mental disorders, 14
  4. Luck, 1996, Cross cultural/ ethnical aspects in hyperactivity disorders of childhood
  5. World Health Organization, 2010, mgGAP intervention guide for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in non-specialized health settings: Mental Health Gap Action Programme
  6. (WHO), 2017, Depression and other common mental disorders: Global health estimates

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Alonso, J., Liu, Z., Evans-Lacko, S., Sadikova, E., Sampson, N., Chatterji, S., Abdulmalik, J., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., Andrade, L. H., Bruffaerts, R., Cardoso, G., Cia, A., Florescu, S., de Girolamo, G., Gureje, O., Haro, J. M., He, Y., de Jonge, P., Karam, E. G., Kawakami, N., Kovess-Masfety, V., Lee, S., Levinson, D., Medina-Mora, M. E., Navarro-Mateu, F., Pennell, B.-E., Piazza, M., Posada-Villa, J., ten Have, M., Zarkov, Z., Kessler, R. C., Thornicroft, G., & Collaborators, T. W. W. M. H. S.
Affiliations
  • Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES)
  • Peking University (CN)
  • King's College London (GB)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • World Health Organization (CH)
  • University College Hospital, Ibadan (NG)
  • Center for Reducing Health Disparities; UC Davis Health System; Sacramento CA USA
  • University of Al-Qadisiyah (IQ)
  • Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
  • Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT)
  • Anxiety Disorders Center; Buenos Aires Argentina
  • National School of Public Health, Management and Professional Development (RO)
  • Unit of Epidemiological and Evaluation Psychiatry; IRCCS-St. John of God Clinical Research Centre; Brescia Italy
  • Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (ES)
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
  • Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology; Rijksuniversiteit Groningen; Groningen Netherlands
  • University of Balamand (LB)
  • The University of Tokyo (JP)
  • Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique (EHESP), EA 4057; Paris Descartes University; Paris France
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • Israel Ministry of Health (IL)
  • National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente; Mexico City Mexico
  • UDIF-SM, Subdirección General de Planificación, Innovación y Cronicidad, Servicio Murciano de Salud. IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain; CIBERESP-Murcia; Murcia Spain
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (PE)
  • Faculty of Social Sciences; Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca University; Bogota Colombia
  • Trimbos-Instituut; Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction; Utrecht Netherlands
  • National Center of Public Health and Analyses (BG)
Corresponding author
Alonso, Jordi
Venue
Depression and Anxiety
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-01-22
Volume
35
Issue
3
Pages
195-208
ISSN
1091-4269 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2792585108
Cited by
716
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 121 · 2025: 122 · 2024: 94 · 2023: 99 · 2022: 97 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 6
FWCI
62.08
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Depression and Anxiety (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
  • RECERCAT (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • RECERCAT (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya) (acceptedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Theses Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
  • Deep Blue (University of Michigan) (submittedVersion)
  • Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona (Universitat de Barcelona) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion)
  • Repositori digital de la UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH070884, U01-MH60220)
  • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • Pfizer Foundation
  • U.S. Public Health Service (R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864, R01DA016558)
  • Fogarty International Center (R03-TW006481)
  • Pan American Health Organization
  • Eli Lilly and Company
  • Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc.
  • GlaxoSmithKline foundation
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
  • Argentinian Ministry of Health
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (03/00204-3)
  • The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (307623/2013-0)
  • Ministry of Health and the National Center for Public Health Protection
  • Ministry of Social Protection
  • Center for Excellence on Research in Mental Health
  • Secretary of Health of Medellín
  • European Commission (QLG5-1999-01042, SANCO 2004123, EAHC 20081308)
  • Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria
  • Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS 00/0028)
  • Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (SAF 2000-158-CE)
  • Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBER CB06/02/0046, RETICS RD06/0011 REM-TAP)
  • United Nations Development Group Iraq Trust Fund (UNDG ITF)
  • Ministry of Health
  • Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research
  • National Insurance Institute of Israel
  • Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (H13-SHOGAI-023, H14-TOKUBETSU-026, H16-KOKORO-013, H25-SEISHIN-IPPAN-006)
  • Lebanese Ministry of Public Health
  • World Health Organization
  • National Institute of Health / Fogarty International Center (R03 TW006481-01)
  • Algorithm
  • AstraZeneca
  • Benta
  • Bella Pharma
  • Eli Lilly
  • Glaxo Smith Kline
  • Lundbeck
  • Novartis
  • OmniPharma
  • Pfizer
  • Phenicia
  • Servier
  • UPO
  • National Institute of Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente (INPRFMDIES 4280)
  • National Council on Science and Technology (CONACyT-G30544-H)
  • WHO (Geneva)
  • WHO (Nigeria)
  • Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria
  • National Institute of Health of the Ministry of Health of Peru
  • Champalimaud Foundation
  • Gulbenkian Foundation
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
  • Ministry of Health (Portugal)
  • Metro Media Transilvania
  • National Institute of Statistics-National Centre for Training in Statistics
  • Cheyenne Services SRL, Statistics Netherlands
  • Ministry of Public Health
  • Eli Lilly Romania SRL
  • National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (044708)
  • John W. Alden Trust
  • National Institute for Health Research
  • Department of Health via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
  • Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)
  • European Research Council (337673)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Disorders
Keywords
anxiety disorders, treatment gap, mental health service utilization, perceived need for treatment, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, complementary and alternative medicine, post-traumatic stress disorder, income level, global mental health, World Mental Health Surveys
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety Disorders, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Quality of Health Care, Global Health, Health Care Surveys, Young Adult

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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-09-28.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-09-28.

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