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

The main objective of this study was to determine the mental health status of population aged 15 and over in the province of East Azarbaijan in 2015.
The statistical population of this cross-sectional field survey consisted of residents of urban and rural areas of East Azarbaijan 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 Tabriz, Sarab and Marand cities. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used as the screening tool for mental disorders. The analysis of data in the current study was carried out using the SPSS-18 software.
Using GHQ traditional scoring method, the results showed that 24.9% of the studied population (29.9% of the women and 20.1% of the men) were considered as likely cases. The prevalence rate of mental disorders was 23.1% for rural and 25.7% for urban areas. Prevalence rates of somatization and anxiety were 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, unemployed and housewives people.
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 decrease in this province (from 25.2% in 1999 to 24.9% 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.