Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Volume 52, Issue 12, 2017, Pages 1523-1540

Incidence and prevalence of mental disorders among immigrants and native Finns: a register-based study (Article)

Markkula N.* , Lehti V. , Gissler M. , Suvisaari J.
  • a Faculty of Medicine, Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo, Av. Las Condes 12 438, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile, Mental Health Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
  • b Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
  • c Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland, Information Services Department, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, Division of Family Medicine, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
  • d Mental Health Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

Purpose: Migrants appear to have a higher risk of mental disorders, but findings vary across country settings and migrant groups. We aimed to assess incidence and prevalence of mental disorders among immigrants and Finnish-born controls in a register-based cohort study. Methods: A register-based cohort study of 184.806 immigrants and 185.184 Finnish-born controls (1.412.117 person-years) was conducted. Information on mental disorders according to ICD-10 was retrieved from the Hospital Discharge Register, which covers all public health care use. Results: The incidence of any mental disorder was lower among male (adjusted HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.77–0.87) and female (aHR 0.76, 95% CI 0.72–0.81) immigrants, being lowest among Asian and highest among North African and Middle Eastern immigrants. The incidence of bipolar, depressive and alcohol use disorders was lower among immigrants. Incidence of psychotic disorders was lower among female and not higher among male immigrants, compared with native Finns. Incidence of PTSD was higher among male immigrants (aHR 4.88, 95% CI 3.38–7.05). Conclusions: The risk of mental disorders varies significantly across migrant groups and disorders and is generally lower among immigrants than native Finns. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.

Author Keywords

Post-traumatic stress disorder Migrants psychotic disorders Register study mood disorders

Index Keywords

statistics and numerical data male Emigrants and Immigrants female risk factor cohort analysis Risk Factors Humans Finland prevalence Incidence Mental Disorders mental disease human adult migrant psychology Cohort Studies
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85028623294&doi=10.1007%2fs00127-017-1432-7&partnerID=40&md5=6a5f83e815141826477d4995ccf595bf
DOI: 10.1007/s00127-017-1432-7
ISSN: 09337954
Cited by: 11
Original Language: English