BACKGROUND: There is little consistency in how severe mental illness (SMI) is defined in practice, and no operational definitions. AIMS: To test two operationalized definitions, based on the National Institute of Mental Health (1987) definition: the first uses three criteria (diagnosis of psychosis; duration of service contact > or = 2 years; GAF score < or = 50), the second only the last two. METHOD: Annual prevalence rates of SMI in two European catchment areas for each criterion and the criteria combined were calculated. RESULTS: The first definition produced rates of 2.55 and 1.34/1000 in London and Verona, respectively; the second permitted an additional 0.98/1000 non-psychotic disorders to be included in Verona. CONCLUSIONS: The three-dimensional definition selects a small group of patients with SMI who have psychotic disorders. The two-dimensional approach allows estimates of SMI prevalence rates which include all forms of mental disorder.
BACKGROUND: There is little consistency in how severe mental illness (SMI) is defined in practice, and no operational definitions. AIMS: To test two operationalized definitions, based on the National Institute of Mental Health (1987) definition: the first uses three criteria (diagnosis of psychosis; duration of service contact > or = 2 years; GAF score < or = 50), the second only the last two. METHOD: Annual prevalence rates of SMI in two European catchment areas for each criterion and the criteria combined were calculated. RESULTS: The first definition produced rates of 2.55 and 1.34/1000 in London and Verona, respectively; the second permitted an additional 0.98/1000 non-psychotic disorders to be included in Verona. CONCLUSIONS: The three-dimensional definition selects a small group of patients with SMI who have psychotic disorders. The two-dimensional approach allows estimates of SMI prevalence rates which include all forms of mental disorder.
Authors: Frank Schneider; Michael Erhart; Walter Hewer; Leonie Ak Loeffler; Frank Jacobi Journal: Dtsch Arztebl Int Date: 2019-06-10 Impact factor: 5.594
Authors: Berta Moreno; Carlos R García-Alonso; Miguel A Negrín Hernández; Francisco Torres-González; Luis Salvador-Carulla Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2008-05-23 Impact factor: 4.328