An epidemiological study of psychiatric disorders in Semnan province in year 2001

Introduction: The burden of psychiatric disorders in the developed countries has been identified by the screening questionnaires and standard clinical interviews at a high level, but the epidemiological studies of psychiatric disorders in iran are brief and their numbers are few. Planning for providing essential mental health services to the people who requires to be informed 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 Semnan province. Materials and Methods: Two hundred eighty individuals were selected through randomized systematic and clustered sampling methods among the existing families in Semnan province. The clinical psychologist completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) questionnaires. 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 was 18.58%, which was 22.14% in the women, and 14.49% in the men, respectively. The anxiety and mood disorders respectively with 8.22% and 5.00% had the higher prevalence in the province. The prevalence of psychotic disorders in this study was 1.78%, neuro-cognitive disorders 2.86 percent and dissociative disorders 0.72%. In the group of mood disorders, major depression with 3.57% and in the group of anxiety disorders, phobic disorder with 2.86% had the higher prevalence. Conclusion: This study showed that 10.71% of individuals suffered from minimum one of the psychiatric disorders. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the province among the individuals in the age group of 41-55 years with 13.85%, individuals whose spouses had passed away 37.50%, residents of urban areas with 13.92%, individuals with diploma 14.29% and unemployed individuals 28.57% that was more common more than other individuals. By considering of these findings, the responsibility of the health policy makers and programmers is more than before in relation to preparing application and executive plans to prevent and treatment of psychiatric disorders in Semnan province for mental health.