Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The estimated incidence of depressive disorder and its determinants in the Finnish ODIN sample

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

In contrast to the huge number of prevalence studies, there are relatively few incidence studies of depressive disorders. Furthermore, estimates of incidence vary remarkably between existing studies. The aim of this paper is to add knowledge about the incidence and determinants of depressive disorder, based on the Finnish sub-sample of the European Outcomes of Depression International Network study.

Method

The random population sample in the Finnish sub-study consisted of 2,999 subjects, aged 18–64, selected from one urban and one rural area. In the baseline survey, potential cases of depressive disorder were identified using the Beck Depression Inventory. SCAN-2 interview was used to assign caseness against ICD-10 criteria. Findings from the 1-year follow-up survey with those who responded in the baseline survey (N=1,939), using the same case-finding instruments, were used to estimate the incidence rate of depressive disorder.

Results

The estimated annual incidence rate for all depressive disorders, including both first-time and recurrent episodes, was 28.5 per 1,000; for first-time episodes it was 20.5 per 1,000. Significant predictors for experiencing a depressive episode were: suffering from self-perceived long-term illness or handicap, experiencing little or no concern from friends, low sense of coherence, low self-confidence, uncertainty about one's future and reporting two or more threatening life events during the preceding 6 months.

Conclusions

About 3% of the working-age population experience an episode of depressive disorder each year. Due to recall problems, the estimate of first-time incidence may be too high.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Antonovsky A (1993) The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale. Soc Sci Med 36:725–733

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ayuso-Mateos JL, Vázquez-Barquero JL, Dowrick C et al (2001) Depressive disorder in Europe: prevalence figures from the ODIN Study. Br J Psychiatry 179:308–316

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M et al (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 4:561–571

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bijl RV, de Graaf R, Ravelli A et al (2002) Gender and age-specific first incidence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the general population. Results from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS). Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 37:372–379

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Brevik JI, Dalgrad OS (1996) The Oslo Health Profile Inventory. University of Oslo, Oslo

    Google Scholar 

  6. Brugha T, Bebbington P, Tennant C et al (1985) The list of threatening experiences: a subset of 12 life event categories with considerable long-term contextual threat. Psychol Med 15:194–198

    Google Scholar 

  7. Dowrick C, Casey P, Dalgard O et al (1998) Outcomes of Depression International Network (ODIN). Background, methods and field trials. Br J Psychiatry 172:359–363

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dowrick C, Vázquez-Barquero JL, Wilkinson G et al (1999) Organizing ODIN: a case study in European academic co-operation. Eur Psychiatr 14:177–181

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Eaton WW, Anthony JC, Gallo J et al (1997) Natural history of Diagnostic Interview Schedule/DSM-IV major depression. The Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area follow-up. Arch Gen Psychiatry 54:993–999

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Eaton WW, Kramer M, Anthony JC et al (1989) The incidence of specific DIS/DSM-III mental disorders: data from the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area Program. Acta Psychiatr Scand 79:163–178

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hagnell O, Lanke J, Rorsman B, Öjesjö L (1982) Are we entering an age of melancholy? Depressive illnesses in a prospective epidemiological study over 25 years: the Lundby Study, Sweden. Psychol Med 12:279–289

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Lehtinen V, Veijola J, Lindholm T et al (1996) Incidence of mental disorders in the Finnish UKKI Study. Br J Psychiatry 168:672–678

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Murphy JM (1996) Incidence of mental disorder. Letter to the editor. Br J Psychiatry 169:667–668

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Murphy JM, Monson RR, Sobol AM, Leighton AH (2001) Studying the incidence of depression: an ‘interval’ effect. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 9:184–192

    Google Scholar 

  15. Murphy JM, Olivier DC, Monson RR et al (1988) Incidence of depression and anxiety: the Stirling County Study. Am J Publ Health 78:534–540

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Murphy JM, Olivier DC, Monson RR et al (1991) Depression and anxiety in relation to social status. Arch Gen Psychiatry 48:223–229

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Oldehinkel AJ, Wittchen HU, Schuster P (1999) Prevalence, 20-month incidence and outcome of unipolar depressive disorders in a community sample of adolescents. Psychol Med 29:655–668

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Patten SB (2003) Recall bias and major depression lifetime prevalence. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 38:290–296

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Pulkkinen L, Rönkä A (1994) Personal control over development, identity formation and future orientation as components of life orientation: a development approach. Dev Psychol 30:260–271

    Google Scholar 

  20. Romans SE, Walton VA, McNoe B et al (1993) Otago Women's Health Survey 30-month follow-up. I: onset patterns of non-psychotic psychiatric disorder. Br J Psychiatry 163:733–738

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Rorsman B, Gräsbeck A, Hagnell O et al (1990) A prospective study of first-incidence depression. The Lundby Study, 1957–72. Br J Psychiatry 156:336–342

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Sandanger I, Nygård JF, Ingebrigtsen G et al (1999) Prevalence, incidence and age at onset of psychiatric disorders in Norway. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 34:570–579

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Surtees PG, Sashidharan SP, Dean C (1986) Affective disorder amongst women in the general population: a longitudinal study. Br J Psychiatry 148:176–186

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Thompson R, Bogner HR, Coyne JC et al (2004) Personal characteristics associated with consistency of recall depressed or anhedonic mood in the 13-year follow-up of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area survey. Acta Psychiatr Scand 109:345–354

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Wittchen HU, Essau CA, von Zerssen D et al (1992) Lifetime and six month prevalence of mental disorders in the Munich follow-up study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 241:247–258

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. World Health Organization (1994) Schedule for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry: version 2.0. WHO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

ODIN has received financial support from the European Commission Biomed 2 Programme (Contract BMH-4-CT96-1681). The Finnish sub-study has been supported by grants from the Finnish Pensions Institute of Agricultural Entrepreneurs (Contract 0339) and the University Central Hospital of Turku.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, Helsinki, Finland

    Ville Lehtinen, Britta Sohlman, Teija Nummelin & Marja Salomaa

  2. Kanervatie 18, 20540, Turku, Finland

    Ville Lehtinen

  3. Dept. of Psychiatry, Universidad Autonoma and Hospital, Madrid, Spain

    José-Luis Ayuso-Mateos

  4. Division of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Christopher Dowrick

Authors
  1. Ville Lehtinen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Britta Sohlman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Teija Nummelin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Marja Salomaa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. José-Luis Ayuso-Mateos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Christopher Dowrick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ville Lehtinen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lehtinen, V., Sohlman, B., Nummelin, T. et al. The estimated incidence of depressive disorder and its determinants in the Finnish ODIN sample. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 40, 778–784 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-005-0956-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-005-0956-4

Key words

Search

Navigation