The Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents in Hormozgan Province of Iran

The current cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents in the Hormozgan province in Iran.

1005 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years who were living in Hormozgan province participated in this community-based study. Participants were selected using the stratified random cluster sampling and were instructed to fill the Persian version of Kiddie-Sads-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Demographic data were also collected (i.e., gender, age, education, parents’ education, and socioeconomic status). Descriptive analysis and 95% confidence interval were used to investigate the relationship between the scores of the K-SADS-PL questionnaire and the demographic factors. Logistic regression was used to calculate the OR of the diagnosis with a psychiatric disorder according to sex, age, and socioeconomic status.

The overall prevalence in children and adolescents was 16.01%. No statistically significant difference was found concerning gender in regards to the frequency of psychiatric disorders. The most prevalent psychiatric disorders were separation anxiety disorder (4.2%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (2.5%), and oppositional defiant disorder (2.5%), while anorexia nervosa (0.1%) had the lowest prevalence.

The frequency of psychiatric disorders in adolescents in Hormozgan province is comparable to the reports from other countries. The results of this study can be used to develop more specific preventive and therapeutic measures, focused on the highest risk subgroups.