PSYCH 056: Epidemiology in Psychiatry

Clinical Deep Dives · Jul 10, 2026 · 1h 3m

Epidemiology provides the lens through which psychiatry steps back and examines mental illness at the level of populations. Rather than focusing on individual cases, it asks broader questions: how common are disorders, who is affected, and what factors influence risk and outcome?

This chapter introduces the foundational concepts of psychiatric epidemiology, including incidence, prevalence, risk factors, and protective factors. It emphasises that mental disorders are not randomly distributed - they follow patterns shaped by biology, environment, social context, and time.

A key theme is…