Depressive disorders in Europe: prevalence figures from the ODIN study

Abstract

Background: This is the first report on the epidemiology of depressive disorders from the European Outcome of Depression International Network (ODIN) study.Aims: To assess the prevalence of depressive disorders in randomly selected samples of the general population in five European countries.Method: The study was designed as a cross-sectional two-phase community study using the Beck Depression Inventory during Phase 1, and the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry during Phase 2.Results: An analysis of the combined sample (n=8.764) gave an overall prevalence of depressive disorders of 8.56% (95% Cl 7.05–10.37). The figures were 10.05% (95% Cl 7.80–12.85) for women and 6.61% (95% Cl 4.92–8.83) for men. The centres fall into three categories: high prevalence (urban Ireland and urban UK), low prevalence (urban Spain) and medium prevalence (the remaining sites).Conclusions: Depressive disorder is a highly prevalent condition in Europe. The major finding is the wide difference in the prevalence of depressive disorders found across the study sites.