Psychiatric Epidemiology Glossary
100 terms total — 24 showing — Last updated 15 Sep 2026
prodrome
Early signs and symptoms that precede the full manifestation of a psychiatric disorder.
DIS
Diagnostic Interview Schedule, a structured psychiatric diagnostic instrument designed for use by lay interviewers in ep...
ECA study
Epidemiologic Catchment Area study, a landmark population-based survey of psychiatric disorders conducted in five US com...
ecological fallacy
The error of inferring individual-level associations from group-level data in epidemiological studies.
expressed emotion
A measure of family emotional climate characterized by criticism, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement that predicts...
familial aggregation
The tendency for psychiatric disorders to occur more frequently within families than would be expected by chance.
first-episode psychosis
The initial occurrence of psychotic symptoms in an individual, representing a critical period for intervention and progn...
GWAS
Large-scale genetic studies examining associations between genetic variants and psychiatric disorders across the genome.
healthy worker effect
The phenomenon where employed populations appear healthier than the general population due to selection bias.
help-seeking behavior
The process by which individuals recognize psychiatric symptoms and actively pursue professional mental health treatment...
incidence density
The rate of new psychiatric disorder cases per unit of person-time at risk in a defined population.
incidence rate
The number of new cases of a psychiatric disorder occurring in a defined population during a specific time period.
lifetime prevalence
The proportion of individuals in a population who have experienced a psychiatric disorder at any point during their life...
migrant epidemiology
The study of mental health patterns among populations who have moved from their place of origin.
MINI
A brief structured diagnostic interview designed for psychiatric epidemiological studies and clinical research.
NESARC
National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a major US psychiatric epidemiology survey.
NIMH-DIS
National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule, a structured interview for psychiatric diagnosis in c...
NSDUH
National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual survey providing national estimates of substance use and mental health...
period prevalence
The proportion of a population that has a psychiatric disorder during a specified time period, typically 12 months.
person-time
A measure combining the number of people in a study with the duration of their observation period.
phenocopy
A condition that mimics a genetic psychiatric disorder but is caused by environmental factors rather than genetic varian...
point prevalence
The proportion of a population that has a specific psychiatric condition at a particular point in time.
polygenic risk score
A quantitative measure of genetic liability to psychiatric disorders based on genome-wide association study findings.
population attributable fraction
The proportion of disease incidence in a population that can be attributed to a specific risk factor.
population attributable risk
The proportion of disease incidence in a population that can be attributed to a specific risk factor.