Harmonisation of mental health measures in British birth cohorts

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Major depression and anxiety disorders appear in the top 10 causes of global burden of disease, with major depression also being the second leading cause of disability worldwide and a major contributor to the burden of suicide and ischemic heart disease. The public health burden of these common psychological disorders is estimated to continue to increase. While the huge costs to society, and to the economy, of poor mental health are undisputed (4) and inequalities due to both social causation and selection are well documented, the idea that experiences of mental distress in adulthood are increasing across generations has not been much discussed, and yet if true as recent evidence suggests, is of major societal and population health significance, especially considering the effects of population ageing. Understanding the development of mental health symptoms over the life course and the investigation of secular mental health trends require comparable measures within and across cohorts, but with rare exceptions the measurement conditions that allow reliable comparisons have not been investigated.