Global Burden of Psychiatric Epidemiology

Dear Colleagues,

Psychiatric disorders remain among the leading contributors to global morbidity, disability, and premature mortality. Over the past several decades, psychiatric epidemiology has expanded from localized, clinically based studies to large-scale, population-level investigations that span countries, cultures, and health systems. These advances have deepened our understanding of the prevalence, incidence, comorbidities, and social determinants of mental health conditions worldwide. Yet substantial gaps persist in our knowledge of how psychiatric disorders develop, vary across diverse contexts, and evolve over the life course. The growing global burden highlights the urgency of advancing research capable of informing prevention, early detection, and equitable treatment strategies.

This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research that clarifies the global distribution, determinants, and consequences of psychiatric disorders. We welcome studies that illuminate disparities across demographic groups and geographic regions, investigate structural or environmental drivers of mental health, or explore innovations in measurement, surveillance, and methodological approaches. Our goal is to showcase interdisciplinary work that advances the scientific understanding of psychiatric epidemiology while also guiding actionable public health and policy responses.

We invite original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, methodological papers, short communications, and commentaries. Submissions may include the following:

• Studies quantifying burden of disease, prevalence, incidence, or trends in psychiatric conditions;
• Life-course or developmental epidemiology of mental disorders;
• Cross-national comparisons or multi-regional analyses;
• Investigations of social, environmental, or structural factors shaping mental health;
• Advances in psychiatric measurement, classification, or surveillance;
• Evaluations of interventions or policies using epidemiologic frameworks;
• Methodological innovations relevant to psychiatric epidemiology.

Dr. Andrew Yockey
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Epidemiologia is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.