The prevalence of common mental disorders in the population of adult Poles by sex and age structure - an EZOP Poland study

Aim. The article presents lifetime (LT) prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) in accordance with the DSMIV classification, based on assessment of representative population sample of 10,081 Poles aged18- 64. Methods. Computer based WHO CIDI3.0 was adapted for the Polish population according to WMH protocol. The survey was performed by certified and supervised interviewers. Results. Out of the 18 CMDs analyzed the most common was alcohol abuse, significantly more often in males (18.6%) than in women (3.3%), (p< 0.01). The second most common disorder was panic attacks, also more frequent in women (8.5%) than in men (3.9%), (p< 0.01). Similarly, depression occurred in women (4.0%) two times more often than in males (1.9%),p< 0.01). GAD, agoraphobia, panic disorder, specific phobia ( p< 0.01), and dysthymia ( p< 0.05) were also more prevalent in women. On the other hand, alcohol abuse, alcohol and drug dependence ( p< 0.01), and hypomania ( p< 0.05) were more common in males. For most analyzed disorders significantly higher prevalence was found in the older age groups. Social phobia, specific phobias, and drug abuse occurred most often in men from the youngest group. No statistically significant differences related to age were found for the prevalence of hypomania both in men and women. Conclusions. Indices of prevalence obtained in the EZOP Poland study differ from the indices of prevalence of mental disorders described earlier in other countries. Lower values were found in Poland for affective disorders and some anxiety disorders. Only alcohol abuse was diagnosed more often than in other studies using similar methods except Ukraine, where this disorder was diagnosed with similar frequency.