The DOI matches its Crossref record; 136 of the 140 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Size and burden of mental disorders in Europe—a critical review and appraisal of 27 studies
Open accessAbstract
Epidemiological data on a wide range of mental disorders from community studies conducted in European countries are presented to determine the availability and consistency of prevalence, disability and treatment findings for the EU. Using a stepwise multimethod approach, 27 eligible studies with quite variable designs and methods including over 150,000 subjects from 16 European countries were identified. Prevalence: On the basis of meta-analytic techniques as well as on reanalyses of selected data sets, it is estimated that about 27% (equals 82.7 million; 95% CI: 78.5-87.1) of the adult EU population, 18-65 of age, is or has been affected by at least one mental disorder in the past 12 months. Taking into account the considerable degree of comorbidity (about one third had more than one disorder), the most frequent disorders are anxiety disorders, depressive, somatoform and substance dependence disorders. When taking into account design, sampling and other methodological differences between studies, little evidence seems to exist for considerable cultural or country variation. Disability and treatment: despite very divergent and fairly crude assessment strategies, the available data consistently demonstrate (a) an association of all mental disorders with a considerable disability burden in terms of number of work days lost (WLD) and (b) generally low utilization and treatment rates. Only 26% of all cases had any consultation with professional health care services, a finding suggesting a considerable degree of unmet need. The paper highlights considerable future research needs for coordinated EU studies across all disorders and age groups. As prevalence estimates could not simply be equated with defined treatment needs, such studies should determine the degree of met and unmet needs for services by taking into account severity, disability and comorbidity. These needs are most pronounced for the new EU member states as well as more generally for adolescent and older populations.
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“in line with the higher prevalence of women who make use of mental healthcare services”
From Patients requesting and receiving euthanasia for psychiatric disorders in the Netherlands (2023) · cites this paper as [12]
In the citing paper
“In Europe, only about 25% of people with mental disorders receive professional treatment (Wittchen and Jacobi, 2005).”
From Feasibility of a Software agent providing a brief Intervention for Self-help to Uplift psychological wellbeing (“SISU”). A single-group pretest-posttest trial investigating the potential of SISU to act as therapeutic agent (2021) · cites this paper as Wittchen and Jacobi, 2005
In the citing paper
“It is the case that many with anxiety disorders have no diagnosis nor seek treatment [29,30].”
From Low-intensity internet-delivered treatment for generalized anxiety symptoms in routine care: protocol for a randomized controlled trial (2014) · cites this paper as [30]
Citations
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“Consistent with the international situation and other inquiries (e.g. Kessler et al., 1994; Fryers et al., 2004), almost no community studies with established explicit diagnostic criteria were identified with regard to other mental disorders such as sleep disorders, impulse control disorders,…”
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Method
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Cited by
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Pharmacological interventions for somatoform disorders in adults
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The size and burden of mental disorders and other disorders of the brain in Europe 2010
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“…conducted by the coordinating center with a restricted set of mental health disorders reported in Table 1, to estimate comorbidity rates, treatment rates, age and gender effects by diagnoses, and to provide an overall estimate of having any disorder (for details, see Wittchen and Jacobi, 2005).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationClement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., Morgan, C., Rüsch, N., Brown, J. S. L., & Thornicroft, G. (2015) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291714000129 · Cited by 3,152
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Kessler, R. C., Petukhova, M., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Wittchen, H. (2012) · International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1002/mpr.1359 · Cited by 2,947
Metadata
- Authors
- Wittchen, H.-U., & Jacobi, F.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (DE)
- ORCID
- Jacobi, Frank
- Venue
- European Neuropsychopharmacology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-08
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 357-376
- ISSN
- 0924-977X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2107900025
- Cited by
- 1,503
- References
- 140
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 64 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 46 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 58 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 75 · 2016: 83 · 2015: 84 · 2014: 103 · 2013: 110 · 2012: 121
- FWCI
- 96.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- tud.qucosa.de
- Licence
- Locations
- European Neuropsychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- Qucosa (Saxon State and University Library Dresden) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Health and Medical Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
- Keywords
- mental illness, prevalence, disability burden, treatment utilization, unmet needs, comorbidities, anxiety disorders, depression, somatoform disorders, substance dependence, lost workdays, European Union, cross-national comparison, adolescent mental health, older adults
- MeSH terms
- Absenteeism, Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Mental Disorders, Disability Evaluation, Europe, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health Services, Middle Aged, Quality of Life, Residence Characteristics, Review Literature as Topic, Sex Factors, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Cost of Illness, Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry), Quality-Adjusted Life Years
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