Minor psychiatric morbidity, its prevalence and outcome in a cohort of civil servants--a seven-year follow-up study.

During the years 1979-1986, a cohort of direct entrant executive officers in the Civil Service were followed up to examine the prevalence and outcome of minor psychiatric morbidity in an occupational setting. All studies using epidemiological standardized research methods agree that prevalence rates are high in occupational settings. As in primary care settings, half of the illness episodes followed a chronic course, which emphasizes the need for early detection and prompt management of these conditions, and for evaluative studies of intervention strategies.