A Survey on Mental Health Status of Adult Population Aged 15 and above in the Province of West Azarbaijan, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: This research aims to determine the mental health status of population aged 15 and over in the province of West Azarbaijan in 2015.

METHOD: This cross-sectional field study was conducted on the residents of both urban and rural areas of the West Azarbaijan province. Through systematic random cluster sampling, 1200 individuals were selected from the residents of urban and rural areas of Urumia, Salmas and Mahabad. The 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire was applied as the screening tool. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 18.0 for windows.

RESULTS: Using GHQ traditional scoring method, the results showed that 24% of individuals (29.1% of females and 18.7% of males) were suspected of mental disorders. The prevalence rate of mental disorders was 19.8% for rural and 25.8% for urban areas. Prevalence of somatization and anxiety was higher than social dysfunction and depression and women revealed higher prevalence for these disorders compared with men. It was also shown that the prevalence rate significantly increased with age and was higher in women, people aged 65 and above, urban residents, widowed or divorced, illiterate, housewives, unemployed and retired people.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that about a quarter of the people in the province were suspected to have mental disorders. Comparing the results of the current survey with those of the study conducted in 1999 suggests that the prevalence of mental disorders is on the increase in this province (from 13.5% in 1999 to 24% in 2015). Therefore, it seems vital that the officials take action in order to improve and maintain mental health status of the people who are at risk.