In a recently published study, researchers at the Institute for Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet show that there are pronounced sex differences in the incidence rates of psychiatric disorders over the lifespan, which varied depending on age, type of psychiatric disorders, calendar period, and socioeconomic status.
Psychiatric disorders are among the most pressing global public health concerns. The sex difference in psychiatric disorders is among the most robust finding in psychiatry. For example, males have a higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, while females are more prone to depression and anxiety disorders. However, most of the evidence were based on prevalence studies, without differentiating new-onset (incident) cases from prevalent and recurrent cases, which may not inform optimal time windows for screening and interventions to reduce sex differences. There is research gap on sex differences in incident psychiatric disorders over the lifespan.
By using the nationwide Swedish register data and adopting a life-course approach, the researchers at IMM and collaborators from MEB, Uppsala University, Oslo University Hospital, and University of Iceland, have been able to depict a comprehensive atlas of sex differences in the incidence rates of clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorders over the lifespan, with an emphasis on analyzing sex differences by various types of psychiatric disorders, socioeconomic status and calendar period.
Their findings that sex differences in psychiatric disorders exist almost across the whole life supports the need of gendered mental health prevention strategies. The variation in these differences by age and socioeconomic status suggests that the current knowledge can be enhanced by integrating data on age and socioeconomic status. This study also provides evidence for screening and intervention strategies that focus on specific age groups and socially disadvantaged populations, where pronounced sex disparity in psychiatric disorders were observed.
Source: Karolinska Institutet
