One-year prevalence of psychiatric disorder in Ontarians 15 to 64 years of age.

OBJECTIVE To present the one-year prevalence of 14 psychiatric disorders in a community sample of Ontarians aged 15 to 64 years. METHOD Data on psychiatric disorders were collected on 9953 respondents using the University of Michigan revision of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (UM-CIDI). DSM-III-R criteria were used to define the psychiatric disorders. RESULTS Almost 1 in 5 Ontarians (18.6%) had one or more of the disorders measured in the survey. Among 15-to 24-year-olds, 1 in 4 was affected. The distribution of individual disorders varied by sex and age. CONCLUSION Because of the immense burden of suffering associated with psychiatric disorders, clinical and research efforts in this area should receive high priority within the health budget.