Non-disabled cases in a national survey

Background. Lifetime and 12-month prevalence estimates of mental disorders consistently reported in large-scale community surveys have met with deserv ed scepticism. A crucial variable is the extent to which people who are con sidered cases are also disabled by their symptoms. In a national population survey, we hypothesized that an administratively significant proportion of persons with anxiety or depressive disorders according to ICD-10 and DSM-I V would report no disability. Methods. Interviews were sought on a nationally representative sample of pe ople aged 18 and over across Australia. The Composite International Diagnos tic Interview on laptop (CIDI-A) was used by professional survey interviewe rs to identify persons meeting ICD-10 or DSM-IV criteria for anxiety or dep ressive disorders in the previous 4 weeks, together with self-reported data on associated disability and medical consultations for the same period. Results. In an achieved sample of 10641 persons (response rate = 78 %), no disability in daily life was reported by 28 % of persons with an anxiety di sorder and 15 % with a depressive disorder by ICD-10 criteria; and by 20(.) 4 % and 13(.)9 % respectively by DSM-IV. Non-disabled respondents had lower scores on two measures of psychological distress and markedly lower rates for having consulted a doctor for their symptoms. Conclusion. The ICD-IO and DSM-IV criteria for anxiety and depressive disor ders, when applied to the information on symptoms elicited by the CIDI-A, i nadequately discriminate between people who are and are not disabled by the ir symptoms. There may be a group of highly symptomatic people in the gener al population who tolerate their symptoms and are not disabled by them.