Fombonne E
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Centre Alfred Binet, Paris, France.
Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique. 1993;41(4):263-76.
Over the last 25 years, the burgeoning of psychiatric epidemiology has generated a considerable knowledge base on the prevalence and incidence of psychiatric disorders. For most disorders, risk factor research has also led to the identification of vulnerability factors in the genetic, biological, psychological and social arenas. However, the delineation of psychopathological mechanisms requires a better understanding of the developmental connexions and sequences of intervention of the postulated risk factors. Similarly, psychopathological models should benefit from the study of protective influences and processes. The importance of longitudinal approaches to the study of causation in psychopathology is emphasized. While future research endeavors need to be theory-driven and to rely on more sophisticated measurement strategies, etiological research in psychiatry will continue to benefit from the range of research methods provided by epidemiology.
在过去25年里，精神科流行病学的蓬勃发展产生了大量关于精神障碍患病率和发病率的知识基础。对于大多数疾病而言，危险因素研究也已在基因、生物学、心理和社会领域促成了易损因素的识别。然而，精神病理机制的描绘需要更好地理解假定危险因素的发展联系和干预顺序。同样，精神病理模型应从保护性影响和过程的研究中受益。纵向研究方法在精神病理学病因研究中的重要性得到了强调。虽然未来的研究工作需要以理论为导向并依赖更精密的测量策略，但精神病学的病因研究将继续受益于流行病学所提供的一系列研究方法。
