Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2024

Open Access 01-12-2024 | Research

Prevalence of mental disorders among middle-aged population of primary healthcare centers in Northeastern Iran

Authors: Mehdi Talebi, Ali Taghipour, Amene Raouf-Rahmati, Ehsan Musa Farokhani, Saeed Ghaffariyan-Jam, Azadeh Samarghandi, Maryam Nemati, Ahmad Nemati

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2024

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Primary healthcare centers (PHCs) serve as the cornerstone of accessible medical services in society, playing a crucial role in screening, detecting, and treating various health issues. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in middle-aged individuals who refer to PHCs and the potential of PHCs in diagnosing mental disorders.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was implemented at PHCs under the supervision of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS) in northeast Iran in 2018. The enrolled subjects were middle-aged adults who had electronic medical records in SINA, an integrated health management system, and the electronic medical records of MUMS. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders by type and their relationship with demographic information was evaluated by a Chi-square test using SPSS 22.

Results

This study involved 218,341 middle-aged participants. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 8.59%, and depression (53.72%) and anxiety (42.02%) were the most common psychiatric disorders in both males and females. The prevalence of mental disorders was significantly higher in females than in males (88.18% vs. 18.81%; P < 0.0001). Indeed, a significant higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, somatoform, childhood psychiatric disorder, and bipolar disorders was observed in females compared to males (P < 0.05). In addition, individuals between the age of 45–60 years, and those from rural areas showed more prevalence of mental disorders than others, but these differences were not significant.

Conclusions

Considering the previous studies in Iran, the prevalence of mental disorders among patients presenting to PHCs was noticeably lower than expected rates. It seems probable that this huge difference is due to poor screening and detection of mental illness in PHCs of MUMS. It is recommended that health policymakers pursue specific measures to make PHCs more helpful for people with mental health problems in the community.
Literature
1.
Evans S, Banerjee S, Leese M, Huxley P. The impact of mental Illness on quality of life: a comparison of severe mental Illness, common mental disorder and healthy population samples. Qual Life Res. 2007;16:17–29.PubMedCrossRef
2.
Global regional. and national burden of 12 mental disorders in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2022;9(2):137 – 50.
3.
McKnight PE, Kashdan TB. The importance of functional impairment to mental health outcomes: a case for reassessing our goals in depression treatment research. Clin Psychol Rev. 2009;29(3):243–59.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
4.
Health TLG. Mental health matters. The Lancet Global Health. 2020;8(11):e1352.CrossRef
5.
Organization WH. The World Health Report 2001: Mental health: new understanding, new hope. 2001.
6.
7.
Wittchen H-U, Jacobi F. Size and burden of mental disorders in Europe—a critical review and appraisal of 27 studies. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2005;15(4):357–76.PubMedCrossRef
8.
Kessler RC, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, Chatterji S, Lee S, Ormel J, et al. The global burden of mental disorders: an update from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Epidemiol Psychiatric Sci. 2009;18(1):23–33.CrossRef
9.
Charara R, Forouzanfar M, Naghavi M, Moradi-Lakeh M, Afshin A, Vos T, et al. The burden of mental disorders in the eastern Mediterranean region, 1990–2013. PLoS ONE. 2017;12(1):e0169575.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
10.
The burden of mental disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean region. 1990–2015: findings from the global burden of Disease 2015 study. Int J Public Health. 2018;63:25–37.CrossRef
11.
Laufer N, Zilber N, Jecsmien P, Maoz B, Grupper D, Hermesh H, et al. Mental disorders in primary care in Israel: prevalence and risk factors. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013;48:1539–54.PubMedCrossRef
12.
Noorbala AA, Faghihzadeh S, Kamali K, Yazdi SAB, Hajebi A, Mousavi MT, et al. Mental health survey of the Iranian adult population in 2015. Arch Iran Med. 2017;20(3):0.
13.
Mirghaed MT, Gorji HA, Panahi S. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Prev Med. 2020;11.
14.
Castillo EG, Ijadi-Maghsoodi R, Shadravan S, Moore E, Mensah MO 3rd, Docherty M, et al. Community Interventions To Promote Mental Health and Social Equity. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2019;21(5):35.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
15.
Behera BK, Prasad R. Primary health-care goal and principles. Healthcare Strategies and Planning for Social Inclusion and Development. 2022:221.
16.
Richard L, Furler J, Densley K, Haggerty J, Russell G, Levesque J-F, et al. Equity of access to primary healthcare for vulnerable populations: the IMPACT international online survey of innovations. Int J Equity Health. 2016;15(1):1–20.CrossRef
17.
Asadi-Lari M, Sayyari A, Akbari M, Gray D. Public health improvement in Iran—lessons from the last 20 years. Public Health. 2004;118(6):395–402.PubMedCrossRef
18.
Yasamy M, Shahmohammadi D, Bagheri Yazdi S, Layeghi H, Bolhari J, Razzaghi E et al. Mental health in the Islamic Republic of Iran: achievements and areas of need. EMHJ-Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 7 (3), 381–391, 2001. 2001.
19.
Funk M, Saraceno B, Drew N, Faydi E. Integrating mental health into primary healthcare. Ment Health Fam Med. 2008;5(1):5–8.PubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Bolhari J, Ahmadkhaniha H, Hajebi A, Bagheri Yazdi SA, Naserbakht M, Karimi-Kisomi I, et al. Evaluation of Mental Health Program Integration into the Primary Health Care System of Iran. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol. 2012;17(4):271–8.
21.
Sadik S, Abdulrahman S, Bradley M, Jenkins R. Integrating mental health into primary health care in Iraq. Ment Health Fam Med. 2011;8(1):39–49.PubMedPubMedCentral
22.
Serrano-Blanco A, Palao DJ, Luciano JV, Pinto-Meza A, Luján L, Fernández A, et al. Prevalence of mental disorders in primary care: results from the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in primary care study (DASMAP). Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2010;45(2):201–10.PubMedCrossRef
23.
Alghadeer SM, Alhossan AM, Al-Arifi MN, Alrabiah ZS, Ali SW, Babelghaith SD, et al. Prevalence of mental disorders among patients attending primary health care centers in the capital of Saudi Arabia. Neurosciences (Riyadh). 2018;23(3):239–43.PubMed
24.
Tabrizi JS, Pourasghar F, Gholamzadeh Nikjoo R. Status of Iran’s Primary Health Care System in terms of Health Systems Control Knobs: a review article. Iran J Public Health. 2017;46(9):1156–66.PubMedPubMedCentral
25.
Mansouri N, Gharaee B, Shariat SV, Bolhari J, Yousefi Nooraie R, Rahimi-Movaghar A, et al. The change in attitude and knowledge of health care personnel and general population following trainings provided during integration of mental health in Primary Health Care in Iran: a systematic review. Int J Mental Health Syst. 2009;3(1):1–7.CrossRef
26.
Hajebi A, Sharifi V, Abbasinejad M, Asadi A, Jafari N, Ziadlou T, et al. Integrating mental health services into the primary health care system: the need for reform in Iran. Iran J Psychiatry. 2021;16(3):320.PubMedPubMedCentral
27.
Middle-aged national health guideline Iran2017.
28.
Meraji M, Farkhani EM, Ramezanghorbani N, Azghandi AF, Mahmoodian SS. Challenges of the Integrated Information System (SINA) in Maternity Care. 2022.
29.
30.
Kessler RC, Barker PR, Colpe LJ, Epstein JF, Gfroerer JC, Hiripi E, et al. Screening for serious mental Illness in the general population. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003;60(2):184–9.PubMedCrossRef
31.
Andersen L, Grimsrud A, Myer L, Williams D, Stein D, Seedat S. The psychometric properties of the K10 and K6 scales in screening for mood and anxiety disorders in the South African stress and health study. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2011;20(4):215–23.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
32.
Dadfar M, Atef Vahid MK, Lester D, Bahrami F. Kessler psychological distress scale (K6): psychometric testing of the Farsi form in psychiatric outpatients. Adv Bioresearch. 2016;7(2):105–8.
33.
Reshvanloo FT, Kareshki H, Amani M, Esfandyari S, Torkamani M. Psychometric properties of the Kessler psychological distress scale (K6) based on classical test theory and item-response theory. Razi J Med Sci. 2020;26(11):20–33.
34.
Sharifi V, Abolhasani F, Farhoudian A, Amin-Esmaeili M. Community Mental Health Centers in Iran: planning evidence-based services. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol. 2013;19(3).
35.
Rahimi Z, Esmaily H, Taghipour A, Mosa Farkhani E, Jamali J. Evaluation of the prevalence of psychological distress and its related demographic factors in 18–65 Year-Old Population of Khorasan Razavi: a cross-sectional study. Iran J Epidemiol. 2021;16(4):316–24.
36.
Viertiö S, Kiviruusu O, Piirtola M, Kaprio J, Korhonen T, Marttunen M, et al. Factors contributing to psychological distress in the working population, with a special reference to gender difference. BMC Public Health. 2021;21:1–17.CrossRef
37.
Noorbala AA, Yazdi SAB, Faghihzadeh S, Kamali K, Faghihzadeh E, Hajebi A, et al. A survey on mental health status of adult population aged 15 and above in the Province of Razavi Khorasan, Iran. Arch Iran Med. 2017;20(13):99–S102.
38.
Bahrami M, Jalali A, Ayati A, Shafiee A, Alaedini F, Saadat S, et al. Epidemiology of mental health disorders in the citizens of Tehran: a report from Tehran Cohort Study. BMC Psychiatry. 2023;23(1):267.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
39.
Fakhari A, Herizchi S, Sadeghi-Bazargani H, Amiri S, Noorazar SG, Mirzajanzade M, et al. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the aging population in the northeastern of Iran. Middle East Current Psychiatry. 2023;30(1):25.CrossRef
40.
Khadivi R, Shakeri M, Ghobadi S. The Efficiency of Mental Health Integration in Primary Health Care: a ten-year study. Int J Prev Med. 2012;3(Suppl 1):139–45.
41.
Üstün TB, Sartorius N. Mental Illness in general health care: an international study. John Wiley & Sons; 1995.
42.
Borges TL, Miasso AI, Reisdofer E, Dos Santos MA, Vedana KGG, Hegadoren KM. Common mental disorders in primary health care units: associated factors and impact on quality of life. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2016;22(5):378–86.PubMedCrossRef
43.
Alabdulla YAAA, Qotba H, Salama R. Prevalence and determinants of non-psychotic Mental Illness among Primary Health Care Centers Attendees in Doha, Qatar. J Community Med Public Health. 2022;6:259.
44.
Ngoma MC, Prince M, Mann A. Common mental disorders among those attending primary health clinics and traditional healers in urban Tanzania. Br J Psychiatry. 2003;183(4):349–55.PubMedCrossRef
45.
Sharifi V, Amin-Esmaeili M, Hajebi A, Motevalian A, Radgoodarzi R, Hefazi M, et al. Twelve-month prevalence and correlates of psychiatric disorders in Iran: the Iranian Mental Health Survey, 2011. Arch Iran Med. 2015;18(2):0.
46.
Rosenfield S, Mouzon D. Gender and mental health. Handbook of the sociology of mental health. 2013:277 – 96.
47.
Veisani Y, Delpisheh A, Mohamadian F. Prevalence and gender differences in psychiatric disorders and DSM-IV mental disorders: a population-based study. Biomedical Res Therapy. 2018;5(1):1975–85.CrossRef
48.
Afifi M. Gender differences in mental health. Singapore Med J. 2007;48(5):385.PubMed
49.
Borhaninejad V, Momenabadi V, Hossseini S, Mansori T, Sadeghi A. Health physical and mental status in the elderly of Kerman. J North Khorasan Univ Med Sci. 2015;6(4):715–25.
50.
Sharifi F, Joulaei H, Kadivar M, Rajaeefard A. Mental Health Status and its Related Demographic Variables of Families Referring to Shiraz Health Centers–2002. Armaghane Danesh. 2004;9(3):75–84.
51.
Kallakuri S, Devarapalli S, Tripathi AP, Patel A, Maulik PK. Common mental disorders and risk factors in rural India: baseline data from the SMART mental health project. BJPsych open. 2018;4(4):192–8.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
52.
Sharifi V. Urban mental health in Iran: challenges and future directions. 2009.
53.
Zyaambo C, Siziya S, Fylkesnes K. Health status and socio-economic factors associated with health facility utilization in rural and urban areas in Zambia. BMC Health Serv Res. 2012;12:389.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
54.
Sapag JC, Sena BF, Bustamante IV, Bobbili SJ, Velasco PR, Mascayano F, et al. Stigma towards mental Illness and substance use issues in primary health care: challenges and opportunities for Latin America. Glob Public Health. 2018;13(10):1468–80.PubMedCrossRef
55.
Hindmarch T, Hotopf M, Owen GS. Depression and decision-making capacity for treatment or research: a systematic review. BMC Med Ethics. 2013;14:1–10.CrossRef
56.
Farhoudian A, Sharifi V, Amini H, Basirnia A, Mesgarpour B, Mansouri N et al. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iran: A systematic review. 2007.
57.
Hajebi A, Motevalian A, Amin-Esmaeili M, Rahimi‐Movaghar A, Sharifi V, Hoseini L, et al. Adaptation and validation of short scales for assessment of psychological distress in I ran: the P ersian K10 and K6. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2018;27(3):e1726.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
58.
Batterham PJ, Sunderland M, Carragher N, Calear AL, Mackinnon AJ, Slade T. The distress Questionnaire-5: Population screener for psychological distress was more accurate than the K6/K10. J Clin Epidemiol. 2016;71:35–42.PubMedCrossRef
59.
Stolk Y, Kaplan I, Szwarc J. Clinical use of the Kessler psychological distress scales with culturally diverse groups. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2014;23(2):161–83.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
60.
Prochaska JJ, Sung HY, Max W, Shi Y, Ong M. Validity study of the K6 scale as a measure of moderate mental distress based on mental health treatment need and utilization. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2012;21(2):88–97.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
Metadata
Title
Prevalence of mental disorders among middle-aged population of primary healthcare centers in Northeastern Iran
Authors
Mehdi Talebi
Ali Taghipour
Amene Raouf-Rahmati
Ehsan Musa Farokhani
Saeed Ghaffariyan-Jam
Azadeh Samarghandi
Maryam Nemati
Ahmad Nemati
Publication date
01-12-2024
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17598-0

Other articles of this Issue 1/2024

BMC Public Health 1/2024 Go to the issue

Research

Food diversity: its relation to children’s health and consequent economic burden

Research highlight

Research highlight: Impact of COVID-19 Disease Control Committee (CDCC) policies on prevention of the disease using Bayes network inference in west of Iran

Research

Results of the Cologne Corona Surveillance (CoCoS) project– a cross-sectional study: survey data on risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and moderate-to-severe course in primarily immunized adults

Research

Association of filial attitude, filial behavior and death literacy: implications for development of death system in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China

Research

Indian fathers are involved in nurturing healthy behaviours in adolescents: A qualitative inquiry

Research

Perception of pregnant individuals, health providers and decision makers on interventions to cease substance consumption during pregnancy: a qualitative study