Epidemiology of Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents Aged 6-18 Years in Zanjan Province, Iran (November-February 2016)

Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents cause numerous issues in adulthood. Epidemiological data could provide a broad understanding of such issues. However, data are scarce regarding the prevalence of these disorders in Iran. The present study aimed to provide detailed evidence on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents aged 6-18 years in Zanjan province, Iran during November-February 2016.

In this cross-sectional study, 1,039 children and adolescents were selected via multistage cluster random sampling. Data were collected by
face-to-face household surveys using the Persian version of kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia-present and lifetime version.

The overall prevalence of mental disorders in the children and adolescents in Zanjan was 10.6%. Enuresis (4.8%) was the most common psychiatric issue, followed by anxiety disorders (4.5%), behavioral disorders (3.8%), and neurodevelopmental disorders (1.5%), while mood disorders (0.4%) had the lowest prevalence. Moreover, the children in the rural areas were 1.73 times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders compared to their urban peers.

According to the results, approximately 18% of the children and adolescents in Zanjan had at least one psychiatric disorder. Our findings could lay the basis for further research and preventive/therapeutic interventions in this regard.