Psychiatric disorders in an arctic community

Objective: To determine the rates of depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse, using modern nosology, in a random sample of residents aged 14 to 85 years living in an Arctic community. Method: A cross-sectional 2-step survey of randomly selected households was undertaken, using a self-report questionnaire to screen for anxiety, depression, and alcohol abuse. The survey included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Ewing and Roose's 4-question alcohol screening instrument (the CA GE questionnaire). Cut-off scores for the HADS and CA GE were found by comparing HADS and CA GE scores with scores on the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-III-R (SCID) in a stratified subsample. Results: Estimated rates of depression and anxiety were 26.5% and 19.0% respectively within the past week, and estimated rates of lifetime alcohol abuse were 30.5%. Conclusions: The estimated prevalence of psychiatric disorders in this Arctic community is higher than that indicated in previous findings on Native mental health.