همه گيري شناسي اختلالات روانپزشكي در استان كردستان (1380)

The Epidemiological Study of Psychiatric Disorders in Kurdistan Province (Year 2001)

Introduction: Planning for providing essential mental health services for people requires us to be knowledgeable about the present status of psychiatric disorders in the society. The objective of this research was to carry out the epidemiological study of the psychiatric disorders in the individuals 18 years and above in urban and rural areas of Kurdistan province. Materials & Methods: 495 individuals were selected through randomized systematic and clustered sampling methods among the existing families of Kurdistan province and the schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) questionnaires were completed by clinical psychologist. The diagnosis of the disorders was based on DSM-IV classification criteria. Results: The results of the study showed that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the province is 20.2 percent. The prevalence was 26.23 percent in women and 14.34 percent in men. The highest prevalence was belonging to anxiety (18.79%) and mood disorders (9.49%). The prevalence of psychotic and neuro-cognitive disorders was 1.62% and 5.25 respectively. In the group of anxiety disorders, post trauma stress disorder with 6.45% percent had the highest prevalence. This study also showed that 20.20% of individuals that were studied suffered from one of the psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the age group of 56-65 years (27.78%), married individuals (21.95%) and housewives (24.64 %) were more than other groups. Conclusion: This study showed that at least 20 percent of individuals age 18 years or older in the province need mental health services. Being aware of this matter reveals the responsibility of governmental & provincial health policy makers more than before in relation to preparing executive plans for mental health in Kurdistan province.