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Prevalence of neurasthenia, comorbidity, and association with impairment among a nationally representative sample of US adults

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Abstract

Purpose

There are no current psychiatric epidemiological studies examining prevalence estimates of neurasthenia across different racial and ethnic groups in the US. This study compares prevalence rates of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) lifetime and 12-month neurasthenia across racial/ethnic groups in the US (Asians, African Americans, Latinos, and non-Latino Whites) and by levels of acculturation. We examine comorbidity of neurasthenia with DSM-IV psychiatric disorders and the association between neurasthenia and impairment.

Methods

We used a pooled sample (N = 10, 118) from two nationally representative household surveys of adults ages 18 years and older: the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication (NCS-R) and the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS).

Results

Among the total sample, the adjusted prevalence rates of lifetime and 12-month neurasthenia with exclusionary criteria were 2.22 and 1.19%. The adjusted prevalence rates for lifetime and 12-month neurasthenia without exclusionary criteria were 4.89 and 2.80%. There were significant racial/ethnic group differences in prevalence for both lifetime and past-year neurasthenia, with Asians reporting significantly lower prevalence of neurasthenia than their non-Latino White counterparts. Less acculturated individuals were at a decreased risk for lifetime and past-year neurasthenia. Lifetime neurasthenia was associated with increased odds of meeting lifetime criteria for any depressive, any anxiety, and any substance use disorder. Respondents with lifetime or past-year neurasthenia had significantly greater levels of impairment compared to those without neurasthenia.

Conclusion

Neurasthenia is a prevalent condition deserving further research attention given its comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders and its association with functional impairment.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by NIH Research grant no. 1P50 MHO 73469 funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and no. P60 MD0 02261 (NCMHD), funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Work for this article was done in part while the first author was a predoctoral fellow at the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research. The first author was partially supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship and by a postdoctoral fellowship through a Kirstein-NRSA Training Grant #T32HL007426 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

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Correspondence to Kristine M. Molina.

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Molina, K.M., Chen, CN., Alegría, M. et al. Prevalence of neurasthenia, comorbidity, and association with impairment among a nationally representative sample of US adults. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47, 1733–1744 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0489-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0489-6

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