Psychiatric cases in community studies: how important an issue?

Over the last 15 years the use of standardized clinical-type psychiatric interviews has been extended to the general population and we have a much better understanding of the extent of affective disorder and factors of aetiological importance. The surveys have revealed a worrying amount of affective disorder, of much the same order of severity as those treated in out-patient clinics, particularly among working-class women in inner-city areas. Relatively few are seen at any point by psychiatric services although half the conditions at any one point in time are chronic. Despite the increasing interest in this work relatively few studies have yet been published. The scientific status of the instruments and the generalizability of the current findings and some of their implications are discussed.