Abstract
Objective: We aimed to report the prevalence, age-of-onset and comorbidity of mood and anxiety disorders in an age-stratified representative sample of Australian women aged 20 years and over.
Method: Mood and anxiety disorders were diagnosed utilising a clinical interview (SCID-I/NP). The lifetime and current prevalence of these disorders was determined from the study population (n = 1095) and standardized to 2006 census data for Australia.
Results: Approximately one in three women (34.8%) reported a lifetime history of any mood and/or anxiety disorder, with mood disorders (30.0%) being more prevalent than anxiety disorders (13.5%). Of these, major depression (23.4%), panic disorder (5.5%) and specific phobia (3.5%) were the most common. The lifetime prevalence of other disorders was low (≤3%). A total of 14.4% of women were identified as having a current mood and/or anxiety disorder, with similar rates of mood (8.9%) and anxiety disorders (8.0%) observed. The median age-of-onset for mood disorders was 27.0 years and 18.5 years for anxiety disorders.
Conclusions: This study reports the lifetime and current prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in the Australian female population. The findings emphasize the extent of the burden of these disorders in the community.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (251638) and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly. Postgraduate scholarships were provided by the University of Melbourne, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund. We thank Sharon Brennan for obtaining the socio-economic data for the study. The funding providers played no role in the design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or in preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
Lana Williams, Julie Pasco, Felice Jacka and Seetal Dodd have received research support from an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly. Margaret Henry, Mark Kotowicz and Geoffrey Nicholson have no conflicts of interest, including specific financial interests and relationships and affiliations relevant to the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript.
Michael Berk has received grant or research support from the Stanley Medical Research Foundation, Medical Benefits Fund (MBF), National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Beyond Blue, Geelong Medical Research Foundation, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Glaxo SmithKline, Organon, Novartis, Mayne Pharma and Servier; and is a speaker or consultant for Astra Zeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Glaxo SmithKline, Janssen Cilag, Lundbeck, Pfizer, Sanofi Synthelabo, Servier, Solvay and Wyeth.