Social phobia and depression: Prevalence and comorbidity
Received 6 April 2009; received in revised form 21 June 2009; accepted 23 July 2009.
Abstract
Background
Social phobia may seriously impair the functioning of affected individuals. It is frequently associated with other mental disorders.
Aims
To estimate the co-occurrence of social phobia with major depressive disorder (MDD) and to analyze their interaction.
Method
Subjects were 18,980 individuals, aged 15 years or older, representative of the general population of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal, who were interviewed by telephone. DSM-IV diagnoses were made with the Sleep-EVAL system.
Results
The point prevalence for social phobia was 4.4% (95% confidence interval: 4.1–4.7%) of the sample. It was higher in women (odds ratio: 1.6) and decreased with age. MDDs were found in 19.5% of participants with social phobia. Co-occurrence of another anxiety disorder was high and increased when a MDD was present (65.2%). The odds of developing a major depressive episode 2 years after the appearance of the social phobia was of 5.74.
Conclusions
Social phobia is highly prevalent in the general population. It increases the risk of developing a MDD and has a high comorbidity with other mental disorders. Social phobia is often present in the course of depression, more obviously during remission period of MDD. Physicians must explore and treat more systematically this frequent pathology.
aStanford Sleep Epidemiology Research Center, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
bDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Corresponding author. Stanford Sleep Epidemiology Research Center School of Medicine, Stanford University 3430 W. Bayshore road Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA. Tel.: +1 650 494 1137; fax: +1 650 947 9813 or +1 650 493 1225.
ABSTRACT