Mental illness in homeless men and women in Munich, Germany

Purpose: Mental illness appears to be overrepresented among homeless indivi duals. The purpose of this study was the standardised assessment of mental illness in a representative sample of homeless men and of homeless women in the city of Munich, Germany. Methods: In order to get a very good estimate of the population of homeless individuals in Munich, a pre-sampling survey was conducted. On the basis of this pre-sampling survey the size and relev ant characteristics of the total population of homeless individuals in Muni ch were defined. Individuals of the sample were randomly selected from the population. 146 men and 32 women were interviewed using the Diagnostic Inte rview Schedule (DIS). Results: Homeless men were on the average 43 years of age, most of them unmarried or divorced, had a relatively low degree-of sc hool education and a relatively long duration of homelessness, The prevalen ce of mental illness (lifetime) was very high: 91,8% had a substance abuse disorder (82,9% alcohol dependence), 41,8% had an affective disorder, 22,6% had an anxiety disorder and 12,4% suffered from schizophrenia. Of the home less men in Munich 94,5% had at least one DIS/DSM-III axis I diagnosis 6- m onth prevalence data is also presented. Conclusions: The results confirm th e findings of other studies in other countries of high rates of mental illn ess among homeless individuals. In comparison to a study in Los Angeles usi ng the same methodology, prevalence rates were even higher in Munich. Impli cations for health care planning are discussed.