Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun;145(6):604-614.
doi: 10.1111/acps.13410. Epub 2022 Feb 18.

Temporal changes in sex- and age-specific incidence profiles of mental disorders-A nationwide study from 1970 to 2016

Oleguer Plana-Ripoll  1   2 , Natalie C Momen  1 , John J McGrath  1   3   4 , Theresa Wimberley  1   5   6   7 , Isabell Brikell  1   8 , Diana Schendel  1   5   6   7   9 , Malene Thygesen  1   5   6   7 , Nanna Weye  1 , Carsten B Pedersen  1   5   6   7   10 , Ole Mors  5   6   11 , Preben B Mortensen  1   5   6   7 , Søren Dalsgaard  1   5   6   7
Affiliations

Temporal changes in sex- and age-specific incidence profiles of mental disorders-A nationwide study from 1970 to 2016

Oleguer Plana-Ripoll et al. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Information on mental disorders over time is critical for documenting changes in population burden, and aiding understanding of potential causal and non-causal factors. The aim of this study was to provide temporal changes in the sex- and age-specific incidence rates (IR) of mental disorders diagnosed in Danish hospitals during five decades and investigate whether such changes may be attributable to changes in administrative reporting practice.

Methods: This population-based cohort study included all people living in Denmark between 1970 and 2016. Mental disorders diagnoses were obtained from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register. We estimated the IR of each mental disorder (all persons, and sex- and age-specific IRs) and examined the impact of two administrative changes.

Results: Our study included 9 107 157 people, followed for 233.0 million person-years. During follow-up, 9.5% were diagnosed with at least one mental disorder. The IR for any mental disorder was 39.0 per 10,000 person-years. Despite fluctuations, this increased between 1970-84 and 2005-2016, from 28.9 to 63.0 per 10,000 person-years. Increases were most pronounced for younger age groups. Administrative changes did appear to influence incidence rates.

Conclusion: Mental disorder IRs have increased in Denmark since 1970, with age of diagnosis shifting downwards. Both trends were likely impacted by administrative changes, while the latter is likely to be (partly) attributable to earlier detection and increased reporting of child-onset conditions. Our findings may provide valuable context of the epidemiology of mental disorders across age groups for comparison with other studies and populations.

Keywords: incidence; mental disorders; register-based epidemiology; time trends.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Age‐specific incidence rates of mental disorders from 1970 to 2016.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Changes in the distribution of age at first diagnosis of mental disorders from 1970 to 2016.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Time trends in the proportional age distribution of incident cases of groups of mental disorders, by sex and in seven periods of calendar years between 1970 and 2016.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Salmon TW. Mental hygiene. In: Rosenau MJ, ed. Preventive Medicine and Hygiene. D. Appleton & Co; 1916:331‐361.
    1. Ødegård Ø. Hospitalized psychoses in Norway: time trends 1926–1965. Social Psychiatry. 1971;6(2):53‐58.
    1. Munk‐Jørgensen P, Mortensen PB. Incidence and other aspects of the epidemiology of Schizophrenia in Denmark, 1971–87. Br J Psychiatry. 1992;161(4):489‐495. - PubMed
    1. Atladottir HO, Parner ET, Schendel D, Dalsgaard S, Thomsen PH, Thorsen P. Time trends in reported diagnoses of childhood neuropsychiatric disorders: a Danish cohort study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(2):193‐198. - PubMed
    1. Jensen CM, Steinhausen HC. Time trends in lifetime incidence rates of first‐time diagnosed bipolar and depressive disorders across 16 years in danish psychiatric hospitals: A Nationwide Study. J Clin Psychiatry. 2016;77(12):e1570‐e1575. - PubMed

Publication types