This is Dr Atwoli's CV current as at October 2020. PDF Upload: Lukoye Atwoli CV (Last updated: October 27, 2020)
Degenhardt L, Glantz M, Evans-Lacko S, Sadikova E, Sampson N, Thornicroft G, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Al-Hamzawi A, Alonso J, {Helena Andrade} L. {Estimating treatment coverage for people with substance use disorders: an analysis of data from the World Mental Health Surveys}. World Psychiatry. 2017;16.Abstract © 2017 World Psychiatric Association Substance use is a major cause of disability globally. This has been recognized in the recent United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in which treatment coverage for substance use disorders is identified as one of the indicators. There have been no estimates of this treatment coverage cross-nationally, making it difficult to know what is the baseline for that SDG target. Here we report data from the World Health Organization (WHO)'s World Mental Health Surveys (WMHS), based on representative community household surveys in 26 countries. We assessed the 12-month prevalence of substance use disorders (alcohol or drug abuse/dependence); the proportion of people with these disorders who were aware that they needed treatment and who wished to receive care; the proportion of those seeking care who received it; and the proportion of such treatment that met minimal standards for treatment quality (“minimally adequate treatment”). Among the 70,880 participants, 2.6{%} met 12-month criteria for substance use disorders; the prevalence was higher in upper-middle income (3.3{%}) than in high-income (2.6{%}) and low/lower-middle income (2.0{%}) countries. Overall, 39.1{%} of those with 12-month substance use disorders recognized a treatment need; this recognition was more common in high-income (43.1{%}) than in upper-middle (35.6{%}) and low/lower-middle income (31.5{%}) countries. Among those who recognized treatment need, 61.3{%} made at least one visit to a service provider, and 29.5{%} of the latter received minimally adequate treatment exposure (35.3{%} in high, 20.3{%} in upper-middle, and 8.6{%} in low/lower-middle income countries). Overall, only 7.1{%} of those with past-year substance use disorders received minimally adequate treatment: 10.3{%} in high income, 4.3{%} in upper-middle income and 1.0{%} in low/lower-middle income countries. These data suggest that only a small minority of people with substance use disorders receive even minimally adequate treatment. At least three barriers are involved: awareness/perceived treatment need, accessing treatment once a need is recognized, and compliance (on the part of both provider and client) to obtain adequate treatment. Various factors are likely to be involved in each of these three barriers, all of which need to be addressed to improve treatment coverage of substance use disorders. These data provide a baseline for the global monitoring of progress of treatment coverage for these disorders as an indicator within the SDGs.
Fayyad J, Sampson NA, Hwang I, Adamowski T, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Al-Hamzawi A, Andrade LHSG, Borges G, de Girolamo G, Florescu S. {The descriptive epidemiology of DSM-IV Adult ADHD in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys}. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders. 2017;9.Abstract © 2016, Springer-Verlag Wien. We previously reported on the cross-national epidemiology of ADHD from the first 10 countries in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys. The current report expands those previous findings to the 20 nationally or regionally representative WMH surveys that have now collected data on adult ADHD. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was administered to 26,744 respondents in these surveys in high-, upper-middle-, and low-/lower-middle-income countries (68.5{%} mean response rate). Current DSM-IV/CIDI adult ADHD prevalence averaged 2.8{%} across surveys and was higher in high (3.6{%})- and upper-middle (3.0{%})- than low-/lower-middle (1.4{%})-income countries. Conditional prevalence of current ADHD averaged 57.0{%} among childhood cases and 41.1{%} among childhood subthreshold cases. Adult ADHD was significantly related to being male, previously married, and low education. Adult ADHD was highly comorbid with DSM-IV/CIDI anxiety, mood, behavior, and substance disorders and significantly associated with role impairments (days out of role, impaired cognition, and social interactions) when controlling for comorbidities. Treatment seeking was low in all countries and targeted largely to comorbid conditions rather than to ADHD. These results show that adult ADHD is prevalent, seriously impairing, and highly comorbid but vastly under-recognized and undertreated across countries and cultures.
Koenen KC, Ratanatharathorn A, Ng L, McLaughlin KA, Bromet EJ, Stein DJ, Karam EG, {Meron Ruscio} A, Benjet C, Scott K. {Posttraumatic stress disorder in the World Mental Health Surveys}. Psychological Medicine. 2017;47.Abstract Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017. Background Traumatic events are common globally; however, comprehensive population-based cross-national data on the epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the paradigmatic trauma-related mental disorder, are lacking. Methods Data were analyzed from 26 population surveys in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. A total of 71 083 respondents ages 18+ participated. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessed exposure to traumatic events as well as 30-day, 12-month, and lifetime PTSD. Respondents were also assessed for treatment in the 12 months preceding the survey. Age of onset distributions were examined by country income level. Associations of PTSD were examined with country income, world region, and respondent demographics. Results The cross-national lifetime prevalence of PTSD was 3.9{%} in the total sample and 5.6{%} among the trauma exposed. Half of respondents with PTSD reported persistent symptoms. Treatment seeking in high-income countries (53.5{%}) was roughly double that in low-lower middle income (22.8{%}) and upper-middle income (28.7{%}) countries. Social disadvantage, including younger age, female sex, being unmarried, being less educated, having lower household income, and being unemployed, was associated with increased risk of lifetime PTSD among the trauma exposed. Conclusions PTSD is prevalent cross-nationally, with half of all global cases being persistent. Only half of those with severe PTSD report receiving any treatment and only a minority receive specialty mental health care. Striking disparities in PTSD treatment exist by country income level. Increasing access to effective treatment, especially in low- and middle-income countries, remains critical for reducing the population burden of PTSD.