Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology

Epidemiology has been defined as the study of the distribution and determinants of health states or events in defined populations and its application to the control of health problems. Psychiatric epidemiology has continued to develop and apply these core principles in relation to mental health and mental disorders. This long-awaited second edition of Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology covers all of the considerable new developments in psychiatric epidemiology that have occurred since the first edition was published. It includes new content on key topics such as life course epidemiology, gene/environment interactions, bioethics, patient and public involvement in research, mixed methods research, new statistical methods, case registers, policy, and implementation. Looking to the future of this rapidly evolving scientific discipline and how it will to respond to the emerging opportunities and challenges posed by 'big data', new technologies, open science and globalisation, this new edition will continue to serve as an invaluable reference for clinicians in practice and in training. It will also be of interest to researchers in mental health and people studying or teaching psychiatric epidemiology at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Epidemiology has been defined as the study of the distribution and determinants of health states or events in defined populations and its application to the control of health problems. Psychiatric epidemiology has continued to develop and apply these core principles in relation to mental health and mental disorders. This long-awaited second edition of Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology covers all of the considerable new developments in psychiatric epidemiology that have occurred since the first edition was published. It includes new content on key topics such as life course epidemiology, gene/environment interactions, bioethics, patient and public involvement in research, mixed methods research, new statistical methods, case registers, policy, and implementation. Looking to the future of this rapidly evolving scientific discipline and how it will to respond to the emerging opportunities and challenges posed by 'big data', new technologies, open science and globalisation, this new edition will continue to serve as an invaluable reference for clinicians in practice and in training. It will also be of interest to researchers in mental health and people studying or teaching psychiatric epidemiology at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

In the years prior to publication, primary health care had been gaining in significance as a setting both for research on mental illness in the general population and for the development of new preventive approaches in this field. The growing need for research had received impetus from the escalating costs of hospital-based health care, the re-structuring of health services in a number of countries, with an increased emphasis on community care and prevention, and the World Health Organization’s ‘Health for All’ campaign, in response to which a growing number of national planning documents had been published. These developments had already stimulated a new interest in the scope for epidemiological and evaluative investigations based on general medical practice. This book, originally published in 1992, consists of selected contributions to the first international scientific meeting on this topic, held in Toronto in 1989. It is made up of five sections, dealing respectively with: the growth and development of a new research field; findings of psychiatric surveys in general practice in a number of different countries; specialist and generalist medical care for mental illness – issues of selection and referral; and specialist aspects of late-life mental disorders encountered in such research. The inclusion of reports from groups of workers in the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Finland, Canada, Australia and other countries testifies to the rapid spread of interest in these questions. With the exception of the first two chapters, which sketch the background of public-health and general-practice epidemiology, all the contributions are focused on general practice as a field laboratory for study of the occurrence, distribution, diagnostic composition and risk factors of psychiatric illness in unselected populations, and present data, largely unpublished, from the authors’ own projects. These findings confirm the importance of research in general practice as a major growing-point of social psychiatry and provide guidelines for further progress in the years ahead. This book will still be an invaluable source of reference to all psychiatrists, psychologists, general practitioners and health care professionals concerned with mental disorders in the wider community.

Searching for the causes of mental disorders is as exciting as it it complex. The relationship between pathophysiology and its overt manifestations is exceedingly intricate, and often the causes of a disorder are elusive at best. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone trying to track these causes, whether they be clinical researchers, public health practitioners, or psychiatric epidemiologists-in-training. Uniting theory and practice in very clear language, it makes a wonderful contribution to both epidemiologic and psychiatric research. Rather than attempting to review the descriptive epidemiology of mental disorders, this book gives much more dynamic exposition of the thinking and techniques used to establish it. Starting out by tracing the brief history of psychiatric epidemiology, the book describes the study of risk factors as causes of mental disorders. Subsequent sections discuss approaches to investigation of biologic, genetic, or social causes and the statistical analysis of study results. The book concludes by following some of the problems involved in the search for genetic causes of mental disorders, and more complex casual relationships.

The new edition of this critically praised textbook continues to provide the most comprehensive overview of the concepts, methods, and research advances in the field; particularly the application of molecular genomics and of neuroimaging. It has been revised and enhanced to capitalize on the strengths of the first and second editions while keeping it up-to-date with the field of psychiatry and epidemiology. This comprehensive publication now includes chapters on experimental epidemiology, gene-environment interactions, the use of case registries, eating disorders, suicide, childhood disorders and immigrant populations, and the epidemiology of a number of childhood disorders. As in the first and second editions, the objective is to provide a comprehensive, easy to understand overview of research methods for the non-specialist. The book is ideal for students of psychiatric epidemiology, psychiatric residents, general psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals. The book features a new editor, Peter Jones, from the University of Cambridge, who joins the successful US team of Ming Tsuang and Mauricio Tohen.

TEXTBOOK IN PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY Edited by Ming T. Tsuang, Mauricio Tohen and Gwendolyn E. P. Zahner A solid background in psychiatric epidemiology is essential for mental health specialists in either clinical or research settings. Including contributions from the major training centers in the United States, Textbook in Psychiatric Epidemiology offers a comprehensive overview of this field. It covers the essential practical and theoretical aspects of this area to provide an ideal text for teaching and training. The book opens with a summary of the history of psychiatric epidemiology. The text is then organized into three main sections: Study Designs and Methods, Assessment, and Epidemiology of Major Psychiatric Disorders. The first two sections feature detailed descriptions of the design of psychiatric studies, the interpretation of results, the evaluation of the validity/reliability of study measures, and the implementation of key professional resources such as the DSM-IV. The final section is a compilation of current epidemiological data on the major psychiatric disorders. Specific topics covered in this textbook include: Research designs Analysis of categorized data Assessing reliability and validity Selecting the proper diagnostic instrument Research on mental health services and epidemiology of psychiatric comorbidity DSM-IV and its role in psychiatric epidemiology Epidemiology of psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression/anxiety, substance abuse or dependence, personality disorders, and psychiatric disorders in geriatric populations Textbook in Psychiatric Epidemiology is an authoritative resource for graduate or medical students in psychiatry, psychology, and allied mental health disciplines. With its extensive coverage of research methodologies, this book will also appeal to epidemiologists, biostatisticians, sociologists, health policy researchers, and public health professionals.

A wide variety of questions pertaining to the etiology, course and therapy of child psychiatric conditions are answered in this concise volume. Central issues related to diagnosis, assessment, sampling and cross-cultural studies are presented in a highly readable fashion. Research on prevalence and patterns of childhood dysfunction and how these are influenced by such factors as age, sex and social class are presented in detail. The authors also provide a detailed description of community surveys and offer a referral pathway to psychiatric care for children.

First published in 1987, Psychiatric Epidemiology brings together global contemporary research and data relating to psychiatric epidemiology. The book comprises edited papers from the World Psychiatric Association symposium held in Edinburgh, September 1985. Divided into six parts, it covers demographic and ecological surveys; life events, stress and social support; longitudinal and cohort studies; epidemiology and clinical issues; alcoholism and alcohol-related disorders; and epidemiology in mental health service planning. Psychiatric Epidemiology will appeal to those with an interest in the history of psychiatric epidemiology and mental health.