[Gender differences in mental health: epidemiological study in the general population of the island of Formentera].

Abstract

The epidemiological data of prevalence of mental disorders according to gender differences are controversial. We analysed the prevalence among men and women via a two-stage epidemiological community study using the GHQ-28 and the SCAN on the island of Formentera (Spain). There are no sex differences in total prevalence; nevertheless some significant differences are detected when data is analysed on specific disorders. Affective disorders, sleep disorders and neurotic and somatoform disorders are more prevalent among women, whereas men have more psychoactive substance use disorders. Comorbidity with medical illness are higher in women but differences are not significant. These findings suggest the need to standardise procedures and instruments in these kinds of studies. This is because one of the bias could be the difference in the number of disorders included in the instrument design used (in our study, sleep disorders and psychoactive substance use disorders were included and personality disorders were excluded.