Comorbidity in Australia: findings of the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to report the prevalence and patterns of 12 month comorbidity in the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (2007 NSMHWB). In this paper the comorbidity between common mental disorders (affective, substance use and anxiety) and between physical and mental disorders is examined. METHOD: The 2007 NSMHWB was a nationally representative household survey of 8841 Australian adults (16-85 years) that assessed participants for symptoms of the most prevalent ICD-10 mental disorders. RESULTS: The common mental disorder classes (affective, anxiety and substance use disorders) often occur together and 25.4% of persons with an anxiety, affective or substance use disorder had at least one other class of mental disorder. A small proportion (3.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.3-4.7%) had all three classes of disorder. Mental disorder and physical disorder comorbidity was also common, with 28% (95%CI = 25.1-30.9%) of those with a chronic physical disorder also having a mental disorder. Comorbidity was associated with greater severity and greater health service use. CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidity is widespread and remains a significant challenge for the delivery of effective health-care services and treatment.

Author information

Author/s: Teesson, Maree (M); Slade, Tim (T); Mills, Katherine (K);

Affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. m.teesson(-atsign-)unsw.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry (Aust N Z J Psychiatry), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 43 (issue 7) : pp 606-14

Dates: Created 2009/06/16; Completed 2009/10/01;

PMID: 19530017, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 10/1/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.