Citation

Werlen L, Puhan MA, Landolt MA, Mohler-Kuo M. BMC Public Health 2020; 20(1): e1470.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s12889-020-09577-6

PMID

32993605

PMCID

PMC7526325

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Common mental disorders (CMDs) are highly prevalent and contribute significantly to the global burden of disease, yet there is evidence of a large treatment gap. We aimed to quantify this gap among young adults with symptoms of CMDs and examine the relationship between substance use and perceived need for care and mental health service utilization.
METHODS: In a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of young Swiss adults' mental health and wellbeing, we assessed symptoms of anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with widely used screening instruments and asked about participant suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, mental health-related quality of life, alcohol and drug use, perceived need for mental health care, and mental health service utilization. We used these variables to calculate the treatment gap and weighted all analyses according to the stratified sampling plan.
RESULTS: Around a quarter of young adults screened positive for at least one CMD. Participants who screened positive for anxiety and/or depression reported significantly more suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempts and reported worse mental health-related quality of life than participants who did not screen positive for a disorder. Women's prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms was significantly higher than men's, while men were more likely to report most types of risky drug use. Among those with a CMD, only around half perceived lifetime need for care, and less than 20% reported currently utilizing mental health services. Young adults with a CMD reporting risky weekly use of alcohol were less likely to be currently using services.
CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of CMD symptoms could reflect a rising prevalence of these disorders mirroring increasing trends observed in other countries. To address the large treatment gap, interventions promoting mental health literacy and more research on additional barriers to inform further interventions are needed.

Language: en

Keywords

Adolescents; Alcohol consumption; Anxiety disorders; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Drug utilization; Female; Humans; Male; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders; Mental health services; Prevalence; Quality of Life; Service utilization; Substance-Related Disorders; Suicidal Ideation; Switzerland; Young adult; Young Adult