Ahmad Ali Noorbala
1*, Seyed Abbas Bagheri Yazdi
2, Soghrat Faghihzadeh
3, Koorosh Kamali
4, , Elham Faghihzadeh
5, Ahmad Hajebi
6, Shahin Akhondzadeh
7, Fatemah Ghazizadeh Hashemi
8, Neda Okhravi
91 Psychosomatic Medicine Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran,
2 Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, Tehran, Iran,
3 Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran,
4 Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran,
5 Department of Biostatistics, Paramedical School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran,
6 Research Center for Addiction and Risky Behaviors (ReCARB), Psychiatric Department, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran,
7 Psychiatric Research Center, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran,
8 Psychiatrist, Shariati Hospital, Alborz Province, karaj, Iran,
9 Responsible Manager of Mental Health office of Razavi Khorasan Provincial Health Center, Razavi Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
Introduction: This research aims to determine the mental
health status of population aged 15 and over in the province of Razavi Khorasan in 2015.
Methods: The statistical population of this
cross-sectional field survey consisted of residents of urban and rural areas of
Razavi Khorasan in Iran. An estimated sample size of 1200 people was chosen
using systematic random cluster sampling. The access was provided by the
contribution of Geographical Post Office of Mashhad, Torbate Jam and Sabzavar
cities. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used as the screening tool
for mental disorders. Data
analysis in the current study was carried out using the SPSS-18 software.
Results: Using GHQ traditional scoring
method, the results showed that 23.7% of individuals (26.9% of females and
20.6% of males) were suspected of mental disorders. The prevalence of suspected
cases of mental disorders was 23.6% in
urban and 23.8% in rural areas. It was also shown that somatization and anxiety
symptoms were more prevalent than social dysfunction and depression symptoms,
and were more common in women than men. The results of this research also
showed that the prevalence of suspected cases of mental disorders increased with
aging. Such disorders were more common in females, people living in rural
areas, divorced and widowed, illiterate, housewives and retired individuals
compared with the other groups.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed
that about a fourth of the people in the province were suspected to have mental
disorders and the prevalence rate of mental disorders increased from 7.7% in 1999
to 23.7% in 2015. Therefore, it is
mandatory for the provincial public health authorities to take the needed steps
to ensure that necessary requirements encompassing prevention and promotion of
mental health are implemented.