Psychiatric epidemiology
Psychiatric epidemiology is a field which studies the causes (
Reviews on psychiatric epidemiology as a main subject were published by Tohen et al. in 2006,[2] Kessler in 2007,[3] and Juul & Nemeroff in 2012.[4]
History
Sociological studies of the early 20th century can be regarded as predecessors of today's psychiatric epidemiology.
As an example, in an attempt to measure the prevalence of mental illness in the United States, Lee Robins and Darrel A. Regier conducted a study called the Epidemiological Catchment Area Project which surveyed samples of the general population at five sites across America. In the study, it was found that about a third of all Americans experience mental illness at some point in their lives. This statistic is often referred to as lifetime prevalence.
Today, epidemiological studies focus on the etiology of mental disorders, i.e. the identification and quantification of causes underlying psychiatric problems and their mechanisms, rather than mere estimation of prevalence.
Assessment of disorders
Many different instruments are used to assess mental disorders in epidemiological studies depending on the age of the participants, available recourses and other considerations. Studies featuring adolescents and adults often use
Exposures studied
Genetic
Psychiatric disorders show substantial heritability according to
Environmental
Next to genetic exposures, a wide variety of environmental exposures are being studied as well, such as nutrition,
Prenatal
Brain development is a complex process that starts during the early stage of
Population-based imaging studies
Population-based imaging studies attempt to find neurobiological substrates to explain psychiatric symptomatology. These studies have mainly used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences to study the brain at a population scale: MRI sequences can be used to noninvasively study structural (e.g. volumetric) brain differences between individuals. Other examples of MRI sequences are functional MRI (fMRI), studying activational patterns of the brain and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), measuring the development and integrity of white matter tacts.[20] These techniques have been used at various developmental stages, examples for each stage are discussed below.
Pediatric population
Imaging studies in children showed a significant association between autistic traits and gyrification patterns (winding patterns) of the brain on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).[21] DTI studies, focusing on white matter development, showed that cognitive ability in children is positively associated with white matter integrity, as expressed by fractional anisotropy (FA).[22]
Elderly population
Population-based studies in a large elderly population found a significant association between vascular white matter disease and depressive symptoms.[23]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Susser E, Schwartz S, Morabia A, Bromet EJ. Psychiatric Epidemiology: Searching for the Causes of Mental Disorders. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
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Further reading
- Bland, Roger C. (March 1992). "Psychiatric Disorders in America: The Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study (Book Review)". Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience. 17 (1): 34–36. PMC 1188384.
- Horwitz, Allan V. and Teresa L. Scheid. A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.