Community-Partnered Development of a Digital Mental Health Resource Website to Support Diverse Communities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

A state-academic-community partnership formed in response to the mental health needs fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the disproportionate effects on marginalized communities. Taking a community-partnered approach and using a health equity lens, the partnership developed a website to guide users through digital mental health resources, prioritizing accessibility, engagement, and community needs.

Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset of mental disorders in adults from the Argentinean Study of Mental Health Epidemiology.

PURPOSE: Although the Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that depressive disorders and anxiety disorders are the second and fifth leading causes of disability in Argentina, these estimates were based on imputations rather than epidemiological data. The policy implications of these results for the necessary expansion of mental health services in Argentina are sufficiently great that more direct estimates of the population burdens of common mental disorders are needed. Therefore, the purpose is to present the first results regarding lifetime prevalence, projected lifetime risk up to age 75, age-of-onset, cohort effects and socio-demographic correlates of DSM-IV mental disorders among adults (18+) from the general population of urban areas of Argentina. METHOD: A multistage clustered area probability household survey was administered to 3927 individuals using the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of any disorder was 29.1% and projected lifetime risk at age 75 was 37.1%. Median age-of-onset of any disorder was 20 years of age. Disorders with highest lifetime prevalence were major depressive disorder (8.7%), alcohol abuse (8.1%), and specific phobia (6.8%). Anxiety disorders were the most prevalent group of disorder (16.4%) followed by mood (12.3%), substance (10.4%), and disruptive behavior disorders (2.5%). Women had greater odds of anxiety and mood disorders; men had greater odds of substance disorders. Age-at-interview was inversely associated with lifetime risk of any disorder. DISCUSSION: The results provide direct evidence for high lifetime societal burdens of common mental disorders in Argentina due to a combination of high prevalence and early age-of-onset.

Associations between DSM-IV mental disorders and subsequent onset of arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the associations between DSM-IV mental disorders and subsequent arthritis onset, with and without mental disorder comorbidity adjustment. We aimed to determine whether specific types of mental disorders and increasing numbers of mental disorders were associated with the onset of arthritis later in life. METHOD: Data were collected using face-to-face household surveys, conducted in 19 countries from different regions of the world (n=52,095). Lifetime prevalence and age at onset of 16 DSM-IV mental disorders were assessed retrospectively with the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WHO-CIDI). Arthritis was assessed by self-report of lifetime history of arthritis and age at onset. Survival analyses estimated the association of initial onset of mental disorders with subsequent onset of arthritis. RESULTS: After adjusting for comorbidity, the number of mood, anxiety, impulse-control, and substance disorders remained significantly associated with arthritis onset showing odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 1.2 to 1.4. Additionally, the risk of developing arthritis increased as the number of mental disorders increased from one to five or more disorders. CONCLUSION: This study suggests links between mental disorders and subsequent arthritis onset using a large, multi-country dataset. These associations lend support to the idea that it may be possible to reduce the severity of mental disorder-arthritis comorbidity through early identification and effective treatment of mental disorders.