China conducts national survey on prevalence of mental disorders

BEIJING - A national epidemiological survey report on the prevalence of mental disorders among Chinese adults was published on the latest issue of the international journal The Lancet Psychiatry.

The report shows that the prevalence of seven kinds of mental disorders including mood and anxiety disorders between 2013 and 2015 was over 1 percent higher than in 1982.

Professor Huang Yueqin of the No. 6 Hospital of Peking University, who is the first writer of the report and lead researcher, said the survey offers national data and analysis for policymakers and healthcare professionals to explore and address the factors that affect mental health in China.

The samples were taken from 157 representative population-based disease surveillance areas in 31 provincial regions on the Chinese mainland. Face-to-face interviews with 32,552 respondents were conducted by trained interviewers and psychiatrists.

Anxiety disorders were the most common class of disorders both in the 12 months before the interview and in the respondents' lifetime, with a prevalence rate of 4.98 percent. The weighted prevalence of dementia in people aged 65 years or older was 5.6 percent.

The research, supported by government authorities, involves 43 Chinese psychiatric hospitals and research institutes.