ABSTRACT
In this study, the total prevalence of mental disorders was estimated as 26 per cent. The illnesses chosen as the main target of the survey were those most frequently responsible for working disability in Finland: diseases of the cardiovascular system, mental disorders and diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. The first part of the health examination consisted of an initial medical examination and screening of all subjects; the second part chiefly of the more detailed clinical examination of those individuals picked out of the screening procedure. The fact that the lower age limit of the sample was set at 30, however, certainly poses a problem with regard to completeness of population coverage, since many mental disorders commence before this age. Mental disorders were found to be more frequent among women than among men, due mainly to the higher prevalence rate of neurotic disorders among women.
