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Prevention of Mental Disorders

The global burden of disease associated with mental disorders is increasing, making the prevention and optimal treatment of these disorders a public health priority. Recent years have seen the establishment of several large strategic programs and organizations that aim to reduce this burden. One of these is the Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders (APMD), which supports a population health approach to the prevention of mental disorders through advocacy, the facilitation of research, and the strengthening of knowledge translation and exchange between researchers and policy makers. This cross-journal article collection in BMC Medicine and BMC Psychiatry, titled Prevention of Mental Disorders, is the result of an APMD initiative and outlines the evidence, opportunities and targets for prevention interventions in the workplace, in early life and at the population level. These papers highlight the necessity for comprehensive policies for the prevention of mental disorders, and provide guidance for policymakers and other stakeholders on the implementation of evidence-based initiatives that will help reduce the burden of disease related to mental disorders. All articles in this cross-journal collection have been independently prepared by the authors and have been subject to the standard peer-review processes of the journals.

  2. The concept of `early life programming' considers the importance of very early environmental exposures throughout the gestational period on the subsequent health outcomes of offspring. The role of maternal die...

    Authors: Adrienne O'Neil, Catherine Itsiopoulos, Helen Skouteris, Rachelle S Opie, Skye McPhie, Briony Hill and Felice N Jacka
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:208
    Content type: Opinion Published on:

  3. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for the largest burden of early mortality and are predicted to cost the global community more than US $30 trillion over the next 20 years. Unhealthy dietary habits, in l...

    Authors: Felice N Jacka, Gary Sacks, Michael Berk and Steven Allender
    Citation: BMC Psychiatry 2014 14:132
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  4. Mental health problems are prevalent and costly in working populations. Workplace interventions to address common mental health problems have evolved relatively independently along three main threads or discip...

    Authors: Anthony D LaMontagne, Angela Martin, Kathryn M Page, Nicola J Reavley, Andrew J Noblet, Allison J Milner, Tessa Keegel and Peter M Smith
    Citation: BMC Psychiatry 2014 14:131
    Content type: Debate Published on:

  6. Depression is a major public health problem among working-age adults. The workplace is potentially an important location for interventions aimed at preventing the development of depression, but to date, the me...

    Authors: Leona Tan, Min-Jung Wang, Matthew Modini, Sadhbh Joyce, Arnstein Mykletun, Helen Christensen and Samuel B Harvey
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2014 12:74
    Content type: Research article Published on:

    The Erratum to this article has been published in BMC Medicine 2014 12:212