[1]: 6 Reviews on psychiatric epidemiology as a main subject were published by Tohen et al. in 2006,[2] Kessler in 2007,[3] and Juul & Nemeroff in 2012.
[1]: 6 These studies investigated for instance how suicide rates differ between Protestant and Catholic countries or how the risk of having schizophrenia is increased in neighborhood characterized with high levels of social isolation.
As an example, in an attempt to measure the prevalence of mental illness in the United States, Lee Robins and Darrel A. Regier conducted a study called the Epidemiological Catchment Area Project which surveyed samples of the general population at five sites across America.
Today, epidemiological studies focus on the etiology of mental disorders, i.e. the identification and quantification of causes underlying psychiatric problems and their mechanisms, rather than mere estimation of prevalence.
Many different instruments are used to assess mental disorders in epidemiological studies depending on the age of the participants, available recourses and other considerations.
A combination of family and molecular studies are used within psychiatric epidemiology to uncover the effects of genetics on mental health.
[14] In contrast to genetic studies, the investigation of environmental exposures of psychiatric problems face the question of bidirectional causality.
The researchers observed that stressful life events precede both internalizing and externalizing psychological problems, but appear to be also the result of experiencing such symptoms.
[17] Premature birth is also associated with an increased risk of childhood depression[18] and psychiatric hospitalization in young adulthood.
[22] Population-based studies in a large elderly population found a significant association between vascular white matter disease and depressive symptoms.