Global Perspectives on Mental-Physical Comorbidity in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

by Michael R. Von Korff, Kate M. Scott, Oye Gureje

Overview

The World Mental Health Surveys were established by the World Health Organization in 2000 to provide valuable information for physicians and health policy planners. These surveys have shed light on the prevalence, correlates, burden, and treatment of mental disorders in countries throughout the world. This volume focuses on the epidemiology of coexisting physical and mental illness around the world. This book includes surveys from 17 discrete countries on six continents, covering epidemiology, risk factors, consequences, and implications for research, clinical work, and policy. Many physical and mental illnesses share a relationship with one another and often occur simultaneously. Clinicians from the disciplines of both psychiatry and medicine are increasingly faced with both challenges on a daily basis, making this an ideal book for a wide range of health professionals. This is the first book devoted to this topic on such a wide-ranging scale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521199599
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/31/2009
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Michael R. Von Korff, DSc, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, is a Senior Investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, Washington.

Kate M. Scott, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Oye Gureje, DSc, FRCPsych, is Head of the Department of Psychiatry at University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Table of Contents

Contributors xi

Foreword David Goldberg xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

1 Global Perspectives on Mental-Physical Comorbidity Michael R. Von Korff 1

Part I An Epidemiological Map of Mental-Physical Comorbidity

2 The Global Burden of Chronic Physical Disease Michael R. Von Korff 15

3 The Global Burden of Chronic Pain Adley Tsang Single Lee 22

4 World Mental Health Survey Methods for Studying Mental-Physical Comorbidity Gemma Vilagut Kathleen Saunders Jordi Alonso 29

5 The Pattern and Nature of Mental-Physical Comorbidity: Specific or General? Oye Gureje 51

6 The Association of Age with Depressive and Anxiety Disorders, by Physical Comorbidity Status Kate M. Scott 84

Part II Risk Factors for Mental-Physical Comorbidity

7 The Development of Mental-Physical Comorbidity Kate M. Scott 97

8 Psychosocial Predictors of Adult-Onset Asthma Kate M. Scott 108

9 Childhood Adversities, Mental Disorders, and Heart Disease Huibert Burger 120

10 Early Child Adversity and Later Hypertension Dan J. Stein Kate M. Scott Michael R. Von Korff 128

11 Early-Life Psychosocial Factors and Adult-Onset Diabetes Carmen Lara 136

12 Psychosocial Stressors in Childhood and Adult-Onset Arthritis Michael R. Von Korff 144

13 The Role of Childhood Adversities in Adult-Onset Spinal Pain Ronny Bruffaerts Koen Demyttenaere 154

14 Childhood Adversities and Adult Obesity Ronny Bruffaerts Koen Demyttenaere 165

15 Linking Depression-Anxiety Disorders and Headache in a Developmental Perspective: The Role of Childhood Family Adversities Adley Tsang Sing Lee 174

16 Women, Depression, and Mental-Physical Comorbidity: Chronic Pain as a Mediating Factor Oye Gureje Bibilola Oladeji 183

Part III Consequences of Mental-Physical Comorbidity

17 Understanding Consequences of Mental-Physical Comorbidity Michael R. Von Korff 193

18 Disability and Treatment of Specific Mental and Physical Disorders Johan Ormel Maria V. Petukhova Michael R. Von Korff Ronald C. Kessler 210

19 The Joint Association of Mental and Physical Conditions with Disability Kate M. Scott 230

20 Disability in "Pure" versus "Comorbid" Mental and Physical Conditions Paul K. Crane 239

21 Labor Force Participation, Unemployment, and Mental-Physical Comorbidity Michael R. Von Korff 249

22 Perceived Stigma and Mental-Physical Comorbidity Jordi Alonso Andrea Buron Gemma Vilagut 256

23 How Physical Comorbidity Affects Treatment of Major Depression in Developing and Developed Countries Oye Gureje 268

24 Mental-Physical Comorbidity and Predicted Mortality Huibert Burger 275

Part IV Implications

25 Research Implications Evelyn J. Bromet Michael R. Von Korff 287

26 Clinical Implications Gregory E. Simon 297

27 Policy Implications Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola 302

Index 313

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Howard M. Kravitz, DO, MPH (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: The focus of this second volume in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys Series is on depressive and anxiety disorders and their relationship to physical diseases and chronic pain conditions. The data presented are based on interviews conducted during the past decade with persons selected from the general populations of 17 countries (10 developed and 7 developing) spanning 6 continents.
Purpose: The purpose is to present "new information from the World Mental Health Surveys on the extent of chronic illness in general and of the co-occurrence of mental and physical morbidity in particular." Readers are exposed to "a comprehensive set of analyses designed to disentangle the complex web of associations between psychiatric disorders and physical conditions."
Audience: As in the first volume, the identified targeted audience is physicians and health policy planners. Specialists in psychiatry and medicine as well as general physicians worldwide will find the content illuminating — studies conducted in diverse cross-national settings, in developing as well as developed countries, show remarkably similar and consistent results. Researchers will find these hypothesis-generating data invaluable for developing the next generation of studies on risk factors for and functional effects of mental-physical comorbidity. The editors, leading authorities in the field, have assembled a well-respected group of contributing authors to describe the results of this international study.
Features: The book is divided into four sections. The first is an overview of the study methods and epidemiology, which informs readers that whereas depressive and anxiety disorders are associated with increased risks of chronic physical diseases and pain conditions, most persons with physical disorders do not have comorbid mental disorders. The second section examines risk factors that may explain the co-occurrence of mental and physical/pain disorders. In particular, it considers the roles of childhood adversity and of early onset depressive and anxiety disorders. The third section examines psychosocial and functional consequences and mortality associated with mental-physical comorbidity. The fourth section is a forward-looking summary of the research, clinical, and policy implications of the results. The book is replete with tables and figures summarizing and illustrating the results. References are pertinent and up-to-date, and the authors direct readers to original sources for results that have been published elsewhere.
Assessment: The cross-sectional comparisons presented in this book are truly a "feast of findings" as described by Professor Sir David Goldberg in the book's foreword. This comprehensive and valuable set of cross-national data on mental-physical comorbidity definitely belongs in academic medical center/university libraries, and is highly recommended as an addition to the personal library of anyone interested in the interrelationships between these disorders and in their societal (health policy) as well as individual impact.

Doody's Review Service

'This groundbreaking book, based on state-of-the-art, rigorous epidemiologic surveys in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, describes the association between a range of childhood adversities, early onset mood and anxiety disorders, and the subsequent higher risks of developing chronic medical and pain conditions. This book should be required reading for all physicians, nurses, epidemiologists, and other health professionals because it provides extensive evidence of the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to patients with chronic illness and chronic pain.' Wayne Katon MD, University of Washington, Seattle

'The findings from this landmark international study will help to break down the walls that science and society too often erect between physical and mental disorders. As a consequence, this promises to improve health of both the body and mind on a global basis.' Kurt Kroenke MD, Regenstrief Institute for Health Care, Indianapolis, Indiana

'This book is the reflection of a groundbreaking effort that provides us with a lot of new insights on mental-physical comorbidity. … [It] will become a standard work of reference and is therefore compulsory reading for clinicians, policy makers, researchers and [others] working in the field of psychosomatic medicine.' Psychological Medicine

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Howard M. Kravitz, DO, MPH (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: The focus of this second volume in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys Series is on depressive and anxiety disorders and their relationship to physical diseases and chronic pain conditions. The data presented are based on interviews conducted during the past decade with persons selected from the general populations of 17 countries (10 developed and 7 developing) spanning 6 continents.
Purpose: The purpose is to present "new information from the World Mental Health Surveys on the extent of chronic illness in general and of the co-occurrence of mental and physical morbidity in particular." Readers are exposed to "a comprehensive set of analyses designed to disentangle the complex web of associations between psychiatric disorders and physical conditions.
Audience: As in the first volume, the identified targeted audience is physicians and health policy planners. Specialists in psychiatry and medicine as well as general physicians worldwide will find the content illuminating — studies conducted in diverse cross-national settings, in developing as well as developed countries, show remarkably similar and consistent results. Researchers will find these hypothesis-generating data invaluable for developing the next generation of studies on risk factors for and functional effects of mental-physical comorbidity. The editors, leading authorities in the field, have assembled a well-respected group of contributing authors to describe the results of this international study.
Features: The book is divided into four sections. The first is an overview of the study methods and epidemiology, which informs readers that whereas depressive and anxiety disorders are associated with increased risks of chronic physical diseases and pain conditions, most persons with physical disorders do not have comorbid mental disorders. The second section examines risk factors that may explain the co-occurrence of mental and physical/pain disorders. In particular, it considers the roles of childhood adversity and of early onset depressive and anxiety disorders. The third section examines psychosocial and functional consequences and mortality associated with mental-physical comorbidity. The fourth section is a forward-looking summary of the research, clinical, and policy implications of the results. The book is replete with tables and figures summarizing and illustrating the results. References are pertinent and up-to-date, and the authors direct readers to original sources for results that have been published elsewhere.
Assessment: The cross-sectional comparisons presented in this book are truly a "feast of findings" as described by Professor Sir David Goldberg in the book's foreword. This comprehensive and valuable set of cross-national data on mental-physical comorbidity definitely belongs in academic medical center/university libraries, and is highly recommended as an addition to the personal library of anyone interested in the interrelationships between these disorders and in their societal (health policy) as well as individual impact.