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Mental Health: international comparisons

A recent European Union report ‘The State of Mental Health in the European Union (2004)PDF Button (2.54 MB) concluded that although many surveys which include mental health measures, have been conducted across Europe, the differences in survey techniques and research methods make real comparisons almost impossible.

Two recent European level surveys, the Eurobarometer survey (which includes a set of questions relating to positive and negative mental health) and the European study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders/Mental Health Disability (ESEMedD), do provide information for comparisons across most EU countries. However, neither of these surveys provide Scottish or UK level data: Great Britain did participate in the Eurobarometer survey but a low response rate meant that this data was excluded from analysis (Lehtinen et al 2005).

The State of Mental Health in the European Union (2004)PDF Button (2.54 MB) report did compare data on psychological distress from the ESEMed study with that of the Psychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households. This showed that the UK alongside the Netherlands had the lowest psychological distress with France and Italy having the highest psychological distress (Table 1).

 

Table 1. Psychological Distress in Seven European Union Countries

European Union Countries (selected)

Mental Health Score (1)
United Kingdom

4.61

Netherlands

4.60

Belguim

4.51

Germany

4.45

Spain

3.69

Italy

3.11

France

2.65

Source: ESEMedD (2004) and UK Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (2001)

notes:

(1) Mental Health score on the SF-12 subscale in six ESEMedD countries and the UK. A lower score indicates a higher level of psychological distress.

 

Comparable information on suicide rates in Europe is also available and this can be accessed from the Choose Life website and the pages on the SCOTPHO website. In summary:

  • Scotland's ranking for Intentional Self Harm (ISH) mortality among men has shifted from being 11th (highest) out of 16 Western European countries in the 1950s to 7th out of 16 in the late 1990s among these countries.
  • In the late 1990s Scotland's position in terms of ISH mortality for women of working age was 9th highest among the 16 Western European countries.