Publication of Professor Maria Melchior’s opening lecture

Maria Melchior

Mental Health and Addiction: From the Individual to the Population Level

This book addresses the fundamental principles of epidemiological research in the field of mental health and addiction, ranging from the management of personal experiences to prevention, while taking into account issues of inequality.

Mental health and addiction are broad concepts that encompass diverse symptoms and experiences, varying in severity and duration. The epidemiologist, relying on the subject’s account, faces the challenge of standardizing
personal experiences. How do we study mental health at the population level, and what do large-scale surveys tell us about the state of mental health in France? What do we know about the role of collective factors and social determinants as sources of risk and protection?

This opening lecture addresses the fundamental principles of epidemiological research in the field of mental health and addiction, ranging from the management of personal experiences to the prevention of mental disorders and addiction at the societal level.

Maria Melchior, Mental Health and Addictions: From the Personal to the Population Level , Paris, Collège de France, “ Opening Lectures ” series, n^o. 339^th, 2026, 72 pp.

ISBN: 978-2-7226-0883-2
Price: €12
Publication date: June 18, 2026

Maria Melchior is an epidemiologist and research director at Inserm. A recipient of several awards, she is the author of Mental Health: A Challenge for the 21^st Century (Michalon, 2023) and co-editor of Social Epidemiology: Concepts, Methods, and Case Studies (Presses de l’EHESP, 2024). She is a visiting professor at the Collège de France in the Public Health Annual Chair, established with the support of the national agency Santé publique France, for the 2025–2026 academic year.