Understanding Psychiatric Epidemiology and Development of Psychiatric Statistics

This chapter explores the importance of understanding psychiatric epidemiology and the development of psychiatric statistics. It discusses the distribution of disease in the population, the concept of thinking of 'horses' rather than 'zebras' in psychiatric diagnoses, and the influence of population prevalence on encountering certain conditions. The chapter also covers the development of prevalence estimates in psychiatric epidemiology, including the impact of World War II, different phases of epidemiologic studies, and the significance of studies like the ECA and national comorbidity survey.