Prevalence of mental disorders among 15-17-year-old male adolescent remand prisoners in Denmark.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the past year prevalence of mental disorders of 15-17-year-old adolescent remand prisoners in east Denmark. METHOD: One hundred 15-17-year-old boys from east Denmark consecutively remanded during 1 year were interviewed with diagnostic instruments to obtain ICD-10 diagnoses. All were screened in The Danish Psychiatric Case Register and The Danish Criminal Register. RESULTS: Past year prevalence of 'any mental disorder' was 69%, substance use disorders 41%. Two per cent had schizophrenia and 2% schizotypal disorder. Thirty-six per cent had 'probable personality disorder'. Conduct disorder was found in 31% and 1% had a hyperkinetic disorder. Ten per cent had previous registered psychiatric contact. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of mental disorders was found substantially higher compared with literature of population-based samples. With an association between mental disorders and violence, early detection and treatment of mental disorders in adolescent delinquents is of importance in the prevention of violence.

Psychoactive substance use diagnoses among psychiatric in-patients.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and possible under-diagnosing of substance use disorders and to consider factors that might influence diagnosing of substance use disorders. METHOD: Data collected from case records and PSE interviews of psychiatric in-patients from 12 psychiatric departments in Denmark admitted during October 1996 were compared with data from the Danish Psychiatric Register. RESULTS: A substantially lower prevalence of substance use diagnoses were found in the register (26.1%) than in the research data (50.0%). A high prevalence of co-occurrence between substance use disorders and mental disorders other than substance use disorders was found (37.3%). In the majority of cases knowledge of the substance use disorders was present in the case records, although they had not resulted in a diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The under-diagnosis of substance use disorders is due not only to concealed diagnostic signs and symptoms but also to an under-diagnosis by the psychiatrists, in spite of the fact that information on the substance use was accessible.