Psychological distress

Description

• A non-specific dimension of psychopathology, indicates that something is wrong but does not yield diagnostic assessment, comprises usually of anxiety and depression related distress states. Distress is associated with high use of health services and is a predictor of mortality. Distress is associated with high use of health services and is a predictor of mortality; important measure for public health matters.

Definitions

• A health interview survey indicator. Occurrence and extent of psychological distress during past month. Mean score of the Mental Health Index (MHI-5) from the RAND-36 questionnaire.

Availability and Time Coverage

Country	Time Coverage
Austria	2002
Belgium	2002
Denmark	2002
Finland	1995, 2001, 2002
France	2001, 2002
Germany	2001, 2002
Greece	2001, 2002
Ireland	2000, 2002
Italy	2002
Luxembourg	2002
Netherlands	1996, 2001-2004
Portugal	2002
Spain	2002
Sweden	1992, 2002
United Kingdom	1992, 1996, 1999, 2002

Groupings of Available Data

Age group: Country Year Groups Austria 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Belgium 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Denmark 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Finland 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ France 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Germany 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Greece 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Ireland 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Italy 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Luxembourg 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Portugal 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Spain 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ Sweden 1992 15-44, 45-64, 65-74. 75+ Sweden 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+ United Kingdom 2002 15-25, 26-44, 45-64, 65+

Sex group: Country Year Groups Austria 2002 male, female, total Belgium 2002 male, female, total Denmark 2002 male, female, total Finland 2001 male, female, total Finland 2002 male, female, total France 2002 male, female, total France 2001 male, female, total Germany 2002 male, female, total Germany 2001 male, female, total Greece 2001 male, female, total Greece 2002 male, female, total Ireland 2002 male, female, total Ireland 2000 male, female, total Italy 2002 male, female, total Luxembourg 2002 male, female, total Portugal 2002 male, female, total Spain 2002 male, female, total Sweden 1992 male, female, total Sweden 2002 male, female, total United Kingdom 2002 male, female, total United Kingdom 1999 male, female

Regional group: None available

Notes

Country	Year	Notes
		Each country may be advised to define national cutpoints, because the results from the pilot study and Eurobarometer imply culture based differences in the responses.
		Suggested population norm for the mean score: 76. A score of 52 or less on the MHI-5 scale is taken to indicate a case of mental ill-health.
Austria	2002	15+
Belgium	2002	15+
Denmark	2002	15+
Finland	2001	18-74 years
Finland	2002	15+
Finland	1995	18-79
France	2002	15+
France	2001	18-74 years
Germany	2001	18-74 years
Germany	2002	15+
Greece	2001	18-74 years
Greece	2002	15+
Ireland	2002	15+
Ireland	2000	18+
Italy	2002	15+
Luxembourg	2002	15+
Netherlands	1996	18-64
Netherlands	2001	14-95
Netherlands	2002	14-95
Netherlands	2003	14-95
Netherlands	2004	14-95
Portugal	2002	15+
Spain	2002	15+
Sweden	2002	15+
Sweden	1992	15-93
United Kingdom	1992	16+
United Kingdom	1998	16+
United Kingdom	1999	18-64
United Kingdom	2002	15+

Data Sources

Country	Year	Source
Austria	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Belgium	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Denmark	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Finland	1995	Aalto A-M, Aro AR, Teperi J. RAND-36 as a measure of Health-Related Quality of Life. Reliability, construct validity and reference values in the Finnish general population. Helsinki: Stakes, Research Reports 101, 1999.
Finland	2001	Korkeila J et al: Piloting a minimum data set of mental health indicators for Europe
Finland	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
France	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
France	2001	Korkeila J et al: Piloting a minimum data set of mental health indicators for Europe
Germany	2001	Korkeila J et al: Piloting a minimum data set of mental health indicators for Europe
Germany	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Greece	2001	Korkeila J et al: Piloting a minimum data set of mental health indicators for Europe
Greece	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Ireland	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Ireland	2000	"Blake C, Codd MB, O'Meara YM. The Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey: normative data for the Irish population. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2000 Jul-Sep
Italy	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Luxembourg	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Netherlands	1996	Bijl RV, Ravelli A. Current and residual functional disability associated with psychopathology: findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS). Psychological Medicine 2000:30:657-668.
Netherlands	2001	Statistics Netherlands
Netherlands	2004	Statistics Netherlands
Portugal	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Spain	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
Sweden	1992	"Sullivan M, Karlsson J. The Swedish SF-36 Health Survey III. Evaluation of criterion-based validity: results from normative population. J Clin Epidemiol. 1998 Nov
Sweden	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
United Kingdom	2002	The European Opinion Research Group (EORG): Eurobarometer 58.2. The mental health status of the European population, 2003.
United Kingdom	1992	"Bowling A, Bond M, Jenkinson C, Lamping DL. Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey questionnaire: which normative data should be used? Comparisons between the norms provided by the Omnibus Survey in Britain, the Health Survey for England and the Oxford Healthy Life Survey. Journal of Public Health Medicine. 1999 Sep
United Kingdom	1998	"Bowling A, Bond M, Jenkinson C, Lamping DL. Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey questionnaire: which normative data should be used? Comparisons between the norms provided by the Omnibus Survey in Britain, the Health Survey for England and the Oxford Healthy Life Survey. Journal of Public Health Medicine. 1999 Sep
United Kingdom	1999	"Jenkinson C, Stewart-Brown S, Petersen, Paice C. Assessment of the SF-36 version 2 in the United Kingdom. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 1999