AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF MENTAL DISORDERS AMONG ADULTS IN THE

Objective: To find out prevalence of mental disorders in the North West Area of Tabriz, Iran and their association with demographic factors such as gender, marital status, education and age. Design and setting: In this cross sectional study 1017 households were chosen using systematic randomized sampling and 2624 individuals above the age of seventeen years and above. We obtained information on psychiatric disorders by using Duke University Questionnaire. Four hundred fifty two people were interviewed by two psychiatrists based on the DSM-IV criteria. The SPSS-11 version was used for analysis. Results: The probability of mental disorder was 19.4 % in women and 8.59 % in men. The overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 14.4%. Conclusion: Etiological studies provide usefull information for planning provision of mental health care.Further studies are needed to find out the prevalence of mental disorders in the community