Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar
1 
, Seyed Abbas Motevalian
2, Ahmad Hajebi
3,4, Vandad Sharifi
5* , Ramin Mojtabai
6, Habibolah Khazaie
7, Farid Najafi
8, Mojtaba Farjam
9, Azizallah Dehghan
9, Hamid Hakimi
10, Mehran Zarghami
11, Maryam Sefidgarnia
11, Kamaledin Alaedini
11, Bahareh Fakhraei
12, Ali Zakiei
7, Hossein Poustchi
13, Reza Malekzadeh
14, Maryam Ardeshir
1, Jaleh Gholami
1, Masoumeh Amin-Esmaeili
151 Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Research Center for Addiction & Risky Behaviors (ReCARB), Psychosocial Health Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
6 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America
7 Sleep Disorders Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
8 Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
9 Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
10 Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
11 Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Addiction Institute & Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Mazandaran, Iran
12 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
13 Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
14 Digestive Oncology Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
15 Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
Abstract
Introduction: We describe a cohort study of the Iranian youth with the primary aim of providing information on incidence, correlates, and the course of eight common mental disorders.
Methods: The Persian Youth Cohort (PYC) is a population-based longitudinal study. We recruited 11,592 Iranians aged 15-34 years, residing in four districts in the west (Ravansar), south (Fasa), southeast (Rafsanjan), and north (Sari) of the country between 2015 to 2020. In addition to psychiatric assessment for major psychiatric disorders using modified composite international diagnostic interview-version 2.1 (CIDI-v2.1), data on psychosocial conditions, potential risk/protective factors, mental health service use, and medical history are also collected. The study is planned to continue for at least eight years after enrollment in each site.
Results: In this study, we present the design, methodological considerations, and the number of participants interviewed in each phase. The median age of participants was 27.0 years (IQR=9.0) and more than half (58.8%) were married. Notably, 4.5% of participants reported lifetime suicide attempts, while the prevalence of any lifetime mental disorder, as evaluated in this study, was found to be 30.2%.
Conclusion: This study will provide valuable data on the incidence of mental disorders and help identify risk and protective factors for mental health problems. It will also provide insight into trajectories of mental disorders and critical information about the future mental health care needs that the country’s healthcare system will be facing.