Academics at the University of Leicester are conducting a national, government-backed mental health and wellbeing survey, including work to gauge the extent of autism among adults.
The survey is looking at a range of health issues, including disability, physical health, pain, lifestyle and life events, to determine how they affect a person’s overall mental health. The £1.3m research project is being funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
The National Study of Health and Wellbeing, also known as the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, is the only survey programme of its kind that aims to gather vital data related to an entire country. It is the fifth in a series that has been tracking rates of mental illness across England since 1993, the last of which was delayed by the pandemic.
Professor Terry Brugha from the university’s Population Health Sciences department is leading the survey, alongside the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in London.
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More than 7,000 adults across England are being interviewed about their mental health by NatCen. The University of Leicester research team is then interviewing in greater depth more than 900 of the same people to examine more complex conditions.
Prof Brugha said: “Around one in six people living in England have a common mental disorder (CMD) such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, and eating disorders.
“It’s vitally important we understand why that might be, who is most likely to develop a disorder and who is most likely to access support for this so that we can begin to tackle the issues and fill in the gaps. Also assessed are rarer conditions such as psychosis and autism.
“We were the first, and are still the only, country in the world to measure rates of autism in adults in the community throughout an entire country. This will be our fourth survey on autism. Our previous surveys showed that most adults in England with autism, especially older adults, are unaware they have it,” he added.
It is intended that the findings of the survey will help to inform the development and delivery of health policy in England.
Associate professor Samuel Tromans said: “The surveys enable us to build an accurate picture of the changes in rates of mental health conditions taking place within our health care systems and communities so that we can confidently identify priorities and how best to tackle them.
“Not only can they help us understand the everyday stresses, strains and joys affecting the health of the nation, but the social, cultural and demographic inequalities which are taking place. We’re ahead of other nations including the USA, Canada and Australia, who have only completed two such national surveys so far.
“The latest survey will also have a more detailed focus on eating disorders, in response to this topic being identified as a research priority by members of the public, academics, charity and public sector representatives, but will also continue to look at rarer mental health conditions such as autism and psychosis,” Prof Tromans added.
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