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Objective: Few studies have been able to contrast associations of anxiety and depression with heart disease. These disorders can be grouped in fear and distress disorders. Aim of this study was to study the association between fear and distress disorders with subsequent heart disease, taking into account the temporal order of disorders., Methods: Twenty household surveys were conducted in 18 countries (n=53791; person years=2,212,430). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessed lifetime prevalence and age at onset of disorders, and respondents were categorized into categories based on the presence and timing of fear and distress disorders. Heart disease was indicated by self-report of physician-diagnosed heart disease or self-report of heart attack, together with year of onset. Survival analyses estimated associations between disorder categories and heart disease., Results: Most respondents with fear or distress disorders had either pure distress or pure fear (8.5% and 7.7% of total sample), while fear preceded distress in the large majority of respondents with comorbid fear and distress (3.8% of total sample). Compared to the "no fear or distress disorder" category, respondents with pure fear disorder had the highest odds of subsequent heart disease (OR:1.8; 95%CI:1.5-2.2; p<0.001) and compared to respondents with pure distress disorder, these respondents were at a significantly increased risk of heart disease (OR:1.3; 95%CI:1.0-1.6; p=0.020)., Conclusion: This novel analytic approach indicates that the risk of subsequent self-reported heart disease associated with pure fear disorder is significantly larger than the risk associated with distress disorder. These results should be confirmed in prospective studies using objective measures of heart disease., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: We investigated the associations between DSM-IV mental disorders and subsequent arthritis onset, with and without mental disorder comorbidity adjustment. We aimed to determine whether specific types of mental disorders and increasing numbers of mental disorders were associated with the onset of arthritis later in life., Method: Data were collected using face-to-face household surveys, conducted in 19 countries from different regions of the world (n=52,095). Lifetime prevalence and age at onset of 16 DSM-IV mental disorders were assessed retrospectively with the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WHO-CIDI). Arthritis was assessed by self-report of lifetime history of arthritis and age at onset. Survival analyses estimated the association of initial onset of mental disorders with subsequent onset of arthritis., Results: After adjusting for comorbidity, the number of mood, anxiety, impulse-control, and substance disorders remained significantly associated with arthritis onset showing odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 1.2 to 1.4. Additionally, the risk of developing arthritis increased as the number of mental disorders increased from one to five or more disorders., Conclusion: This study suggests links between mental disorders and subsequent arthritis onset using a large, multi-country dataset. These associations lend support to the idea that it may be possible to reduce the severity of mental disorder-arthritis comorbidity through early identification and effective treatment of mental disorders., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: COPD and mental disorder comorbidity is commonly reported, although findings are limited by substantive weaknesses. Moreover, few studies investigate mental disorder as a risk for COPD onset. This research aims to investigate associations between current (12-month) DSM-IV mental disorders and COPD, associations between temporally prior mental disorders and subsequent COPD diagnosis, and cumulative effect of multiple mental disorders., Methods: Data were collected using population surveys of 19 countries (n=52,095). COPD diagnosis was assessed by self-report of physician's diagnosis. The World Mental Health-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) was used to retrospectively assess lifetime prevalence and age at onset of 16 DSM-IV disorders. Adjusting for age, gender, smoking, education, and country, survival analysis estimated associations between first onset of mental disorder and subsequent COPD diagnosis., Results: COPD and several mental disorders were concurrently associated across the 12-month period (ORs 1.5-3.8). When examining associations between temporally prior disorders and COPD, all but two mental disorders were associated with COPD diagnosis (ORs 1.7-3.5). After comorbidity adjustment, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and alcohol abuse were significantly associated with COPD (ORs 1.6-1.8). There was a substantive cumulative risk of COPD diagnosis following multiple mental disorders experienced over the lifetime., Conclusions: Mental disorder prevalence is higher in those with COPD than those without COPD. Over time, mental disorders are associated with subsequent diagnosis of COPD; further, the risk is cumulative for multiple diagnoses. Attention should be given to the role of mental disorders in the pathogenesis of COPD using prospective study designs., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The associations between mental disorders and cancer remain unclear. It is also unknown whether any associations vary according to life stage or gender. This paper examines these research questions using data from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative., Methods: The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview retrospectively assessed the lifetime prevalence of 16 DSM-IV mental disorders in face-to-face household population surveys in nineteen countries (n = 52,095). Cancer was indicated by self-report of diagnosis. Smoking was assessed in questions about current and past tobacco use. Survival analyses estimated associations between first onset of mental disorders and subsequently reported cancer., Results: After adjustment for comorbidity, panic disorder, specific phobia and alcohol abuse were associated with a subsequently self-reported diagnosis of cancer. There was an association between number of mental disorders and the likelihood of reporting a cancer diagnosis following the onset of the mental disorder. This suggests that the associations between mental disorders and cancer risk may be generalised, rather than specific to a particular disorder. Depression is more strongly associated with self-reported cancers diagnosed early in life and in women. PTSD is also associated with cancers diagnosed early in life., Conclusion: This study reports the magnitude of the associations between mental disorders and a self-reported diagnosis of cancer and provides information about the relevance of comorbidity, gender and the impact at different stages of life. The findings point to a link between the two conditions and lend support to arguments for early identification and treatment of mental disorders., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to report., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Recent research demonstrating concurrent associations between mental disorders and peptic ulcers has renewed interest in links between psychological factors and ulcers. However, little is known about associations between temporally prior mental disorders and subsequent ulcer onset. Nor has the potentially confounding role of childhood adversities been explored. The objective of this study was to examine associations between a wide range of temporally prior DSM-IV mental disorders and subsequent onset of ulcer, without and with adjustment for mental disorder comorbidity and childhood adversities., Methods: Face-to-face household surveys conducted in 19 countries (n=52,095; person years=2,096,486). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview retrospectively assessed lifetime prevalence and age at onset of 16 DSM-IV mental disorders. Peptic ulcer onset was assessed in the same interview by self-report of physician's diagnosis and year of diagnosis. Survival analyses estimated associations between first onset of mental disorders and subsequent ulcer onset., Results: After comorbidity and sociodemographic adjustment, depression, social phobia, specific phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, alcohol and drug abuse disorders were significantly associated with ulcer onset (ORs 1.3-1.6). Increasing number of lifetime mental disorders was associated with ulcer onset in a dose-response fashion. These associations were only slightly attenuated by adjustment for childhood adversities., Conclusions: A wide range of mental disorders were linked with the self-report of subsequent peptic ulcer onset. These associations require confirmation in prospective designs, but are suggestive of a role for mental disorders in contributing to ulcer vulnerability, possibly through abnormalities in the physiological stress response associated with mental disorders., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)