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Lifetime prevalence estimates of major depression: An indirect estimation method and a quantification of recall bias

  • Psychiatric Epidemiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

The measurement of lifetime prevalence of depression in cross-sectional surveys is biased by recall problems. We estimated it indirectly for two countries using modelling, and quantified the underestimation in the empirical estimate for one. A microsimulation model was used to generate population-based epidemiological measures of depression. We fitted the model to 1-and 12-month prevalence data from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS) and the Australian Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey. The lowest proportion of cases ever having an episode in their life is 30% of men and 40% of women, for both countries. This corresponds to a lifetime prevalence of 20 and 30%, respectively, in a cross-sectional setting (aged 15–65). The NEMESIS data were 38% lower than these estimates. We conclude that modelling enabled us to estimate lifetime prevalence of depression indirectly. This method is useful in the absence of direct measurement, but also showed that direct estimates are underestimated by recall bias and by the cross-sectional setting.

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Abbreviations

NEMESIS:

The Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study

MD:

Major Depression

CIDI:

The Composite International Diagnostic Interview

DSM:

The Diagnostic and

ICD:

The International Classification of Diseases

RR:

Relative Risk

95% CI:

95% Confidence Interval

ECA:

Epidemiologic Catchment Area

NCS:

National Comorbidity Survey

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Author notes

  1. Theo Vos

    Present address: School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 4072

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Erasmus Medical Center, University Hospital Rotterdam, P.O. Box 3000, 1738 DR, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

    Michelle Elisabeth Kruijshaar & Jan Barendregt

  2. Department for Public Health Forecasting, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands

    Michelle Elisabeth Kruijshaar

  3. Department of Human Services, Health Surveillance and Evaluation Section, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

    Theo Vos

  4. Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, the Netherlands

    Ron de Graaf & Jan Spijker

  5. Clinical Research Unit on Anxiety and Depression, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Gavin Andrews

Authors
  1. Michelle Elisabeth Kruijshaar
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  2. Jan Barendregt
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  3. Theo Vos
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  4. Ron de Graaf
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  5. Jan Spijker
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  6. Gavin Andrews
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michelle Elisabeth Kruijshaar.

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Kruijshaar, M., Barendregt, J., Vos, T. et al. Lifetime prevalence estimates of major depression: An indirect estimation method and a quantification of recall bias. Eur J Epidemiol 20, 103–111 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-004-1009-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-004-1009-0

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