[Prevalence of pure and comorbid mental disorders in Belgium]

To describe the 12-month and lifetime prevalence rates of pure and comorbid mental disorders in Belgium.

A representative random sample of non-institutionalized inhabitants from Belgium aged 18 or older (N = 2419) was interviewed between April 2001 and June 2002. DSM-IV disorders were assessed by lay interviewers using a revised version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-2000).

More than 27% reported a lifetime history of at least one mental disorder; one in nine reported the presence of a mental disorder in the past 12 months. Major depressive disorder (MDD) and alcohol abuse were the most common lifetime disorders; MDD and specific phobia were most common in the past 12 months. Psychiatric comorbidity was also a common condition.

Psychiatric disorders in Belgium are frequent. More than two million Belgians have had a mental disorders at a certain moment in their life; more than 800,000 have had a mental disorder in the past 12 months.