Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Taiwan defined by the Chinese Diagnostic Interview Schedule

TLDR

Differences in prevalence rates across the three sampling areas and international studies are examined from methodological, social, and cultural perspectives. The study reports lifetime and one-year prevalence rates for 27 and 17 specific psychiatric disorders. The Taiwan Psychiatric Epidemiological Project sampled 5005, 3004, and 2995 individuals from metropolitan Taipei, two small towns, and six rural villages using a multistage random design and identified cases with the Chinese modified Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Lifetime prevalence of any disorder (excluding tobacco dependence) ranged from 16.3 % in metropolitan Taipei to 28.0 % in small towns, with significant sex and area differences for 15 and 8 disorders respectively; the small-town sample had the highest overall prevalence, and the average one-year to lifetime prevalence ratio was 0.67.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Taiwan Psychiatric Epidemiological Project, conducted from 1982 to 1986, used the multistage random sampling method with 5005, 3004 and 2995 subjects selected respectively from metropolitan Taipei (MT), 2 small towns (ST) and 6 rural villages (RV). The case identification tool was the Chinese modified Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS‐CM). This study presents the lifetime and one‐year prevalence of 27 and of 17 specific psychiatric disorders respectively. The lifetime prevalence of any disorder defined by the DIS‐CM—excluding tobacco dependence—was 16.3%, 28.0% and 21.5% in the MT, ST and RV samples respectively. The differences in lifetime prevalence between the sexes and between the 3 sampling areas were significant for 15 and 8 disorders respectively. The ST sample seemed to have the most disorders, with the highest prevalence among 3 sampling areas. The mean ratio of one‐year to lifetime prevalence was 0.67. The differences in prevalence rates between the 3 sampling areas and between the international studies are discussed from methodological, social and cultural points of view.