Prevalence of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders including nicotine dependence in the general population: Results from the Northern German TACOS study

Background: During the last two decades there is a growing knowledge on the spread of psychiatric disorders in the community from many parts of the world. However, little is known from Germany and studies including the full range of substance use disorders as well as somatoform disorders are scarce. Method: A random sample of 4075 subjects aged 18 to 64 and drawn from residents' registration offices of 47 northern German communities was cross-sectionally surveyed using a German version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). The response rate was 70.2%. Results: Some 45.5% of the total sample have experienced at least one DSM-IV disorder in their lifetime and among them 26.2% and 17.3% within the preceding year and month respectively. Substance use disorders, including nicotine dependence, were found to be most prevalent followed by anxiety, somatoform and mood disorders with eating disorders having the lowest prevalence. The most frequent single diagnoses were nicotine dependence, pain disorder, specific phobia, major depressive and alcohol use disorders which were suffered from by more than 90% of all subjects with any diagnosis. Conclusions: Results are discussed in the light of studies from other regions of the world. The high prevalence rates found for pain disorder and nicotine dependence emphasizes the need for the development of specialized public health measures.