Prevalence of mental disorders across Europe

The prevalence of most mental disorders is approximately 2–3 times higher in women than in men, except for substance use disorders, which are approximately 3 times more common in men than in women, and psychotic disorders.¹

Anxiety disorders have the highest 1-year prevalence among all mental disorders (14%), affecting almost 70 million people in Europe across all age groups; the most prevalent anxiety disorders include specific phobias (6.4%), social anxiety disorder (2.3%) and agoraphobia (2.0%).¹ The prevalence rates of individual disorders differ by age groups: for example, prevalence rates for generalized anxiety disorder are much higher among people aged over 65 years (3.4%) than in people aged 65 years and under (1.7%), and PTSD rates decline with age (14–34 years: 2.9%, 35–65 years: 1.3%, 65+: 1.1%).¹

Reference:

1. Wittchen HU, Jacobi F, Rehm J, et al. The size and burden of mental disorders and other disorders of the brain in Europe 2010. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2011; 21 (9): 655–679.