AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS IN QAZVIN PROVINCE

Planning for providing essential mental health services to people requires a comprehensive understanding of the present status of psychiatric disorders in the society. To carry out the epidemiological study of the psychiatric disorders among the individuals within the age group of 18 years and above in urban and rural areas of Qazvin, this study was performed as a crosssectional survey in the year 2001. Three hundred and fifty-four individuals were selected through randomized, systematic, and clustered sampling methods from the existing families of Qazvin Province. The schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia (SADS) questionnaires were completed by a clinical psychologist. The diagnosis of the disorders was based on DSM IV classification criteria. The results of the study showed that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Qazvin Province is 31.61%, with a value of 42.23% for women and 20.66% for men. The anxiety and mood disorders with 20.89% and 4.80%, respectively, showed a higher prevalence in this province. The prevalence of psychotic disorders in this study was 1.12%, neurocognitive disorders 2.54%, and dissociative disorders 2.26%. In the group of mood disorders, major depression with 2.82% and in the group of anxiety disorders, phobia with 8.19%, showed a higher prevalence. The findings of this study make the responsibility of the health policy makers and programmers in the fields of prevention, treatment, and medical education more important than before, to prepare both executive and practical plans in Qazvin Province for mental health.