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Affective Disorder amongst Women in the General Population: A Longitudinal Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

P. G. Surtees*
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EH10 5HF
S. P. Sashidharan
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EH10 5HF
C. Dean
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester
*
Correspondence

Abstract

This paper reports upon a longitudinal general population survey of psychiatric disorder among a sample of women in Edinburgh. The course and outcome of the identified disorders, defined according to the RDC, are described. In addition the report documents the consequence, for the description of episodes, of adopting a diagnostic scheme which embodies hierarchical and inter-episode interval rules. Estimates of disease rates per year revealed a period prevalence of RDC disorder of 25.2% (17.6% depressive and 7.6% anxiety disorder) and an RDC new episode inception rate of 12.6%. In spite of the evident nontrivial nature of these conditions, and of the extent to which they were found to endure, contact with the psychiatric services was found to be minimal.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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