The Prevalence of Mental Disorders among Male Prisoners Referred to the Clinic of Central Prison of Hamedan, Iran

Based on the results of different studies on inmate populations, the prevalence of mental disorders among male prisoners was 2-3 times higher than the general population.
The current study aimed at determining the prevalence of mental disorders among male prisoners referred to the clinic of Central Prison of Hamedan, Iran.
Material and The study was carried out on 446 male prisoners referred to the clinic of Central Prison of Hamadan. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method; they mostly complained of their mental status during the last year. The initial screening test was performed for the participants by a physician. The subjects completed the syndrome checklist questionnaire (SCL90) and the ones with cutoff point >2.5 for clinical syndrome underwent structured interviews with a psychologist and a psychiatrist.
Based on the obtained data, 45% of the subjects were married, 45% single, and 10% divorced. Most of them had primary school education (34%), followed by middle school (35%). Mental disorders were mostly common in the subjects within the age range of 26 to 35 years (50%); also, 96% (n=427) of them were diagnosed with at least 1 disorder. Based on the data analysis results, depression (41%), bipolar disorder (19%), trauma- and stress-related disorders (9%), anxiety disorders (8.8%), and substance-related disorders (8 percent) had the highest frequencies among the subjects, respectively. The comorbidity of 2 or more mental disorders was observed in more than 50% of the studied inmates.
Discussion and According to the results of the current study, the prevalence of mental disorders, particularly mood disorders (depression, bipolar), among prisoners is significantly higher than the general population.