| Summary: | Background: In our Country, Colombia, little is known about the severity of mental disorders without any treatment. Objective: To estimate the prevalence, severity and treatment of anxiety disorders related to substances, mental health and control of impulses among adults, according to the ENSM Colombia, 2003. The analysis was done from a data base approved by WHO and Harvard University for the World Questionnaire for Mental Health. Methodology: We, personally, interviewed homes from 60 towns in Colombia. 4544 people responded the questionnaire. CIDI-WHO instrument was followed.Results: The prevalence, in Colombia, for having any metal disorder (CIDI-WHO / DSM IV) during life is 40.1%, being anxiety disorders the highest, reaching a 19.5% during their lives, and a 9.9% will be during the last 12 months. Anxiety also have the earliest presentation in life, about the 9th decade. Among Colombians the serious mental disorders are associated with a great disability and a poor functional status. This accounts for an average of 27.9 lost days per year. Conclusions: It is mandatory to design new political strategies directed to obtain a satisfactory mental health, by means of new treatments, in order to diminish the unsatisfied needs in the management of serious mental disorders. We stress the fact of the need to intervene, by means of a treatment the light to moderate cases, especially if they are at risk to become a serious disorder.
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