THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MENTAL-DISORDERS IN FINLAND

Psychiatric epidemiology has a long tradition in Finland. In the follo wing article the Finnish epidemiological studies conducted since the 1 960s are reviewed, focusing particularly on two main studies: the Mini Finland Health Survey and the UKKI Study. The former is an extensive cross-sectional survey of the Finnish adult population dealing with no t only the occurrence of mental disorders but also physical illnesses and their met and unmet need for treatment. The latter is a more inten sive longitudinal study in which the same population sample has been f ollowed up with epidemiological methods for 16 years, producing inform ation on the changes of mental health and incidence of mental disorder s. Some main results from these studies are presented.