Abstract

Background: This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents in east Azerbaijan, Tabriz, Iran. Methods: A total of 1036 children and adolescents between the ages of 6 - 18 were selected with cluster sampling in Tabriz city. Measurements of mental disorders were done according to the semi-structured K-SADS scale. Data were gathered by trained clinical psychologists and were analyzed by SPSS V. 16. The prevalence of mental disorders was presented with percent (95 CI) and the significance level was considered as 0.05. Results: The prevalence of any mental disorder in children and adolescents were 24.9. The measure in boys and girls were 25.4 and 24.9, respectively. A total of 27.4 of 6 - 9 years old, 23.9 of 10 -14 year olds, and 23.5 of 15 -18 year olds had suffered from at least one mental disorder. The most common disorders, respectively, were enuresis, ADHD, specific phobia, separation anxiety disorder. Panic disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, and agoraphobia occurred more in girls more than boys, while conduct disorder occurred more in boys. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that one in four children and adolescents had at least one mental disorder. Thus, considering the fact that the beginning of most mental disorders were not until adolescence years and continuation to adulthood, it is necessary that appropriate interventions were designed and executed. We must define cost effective services for early case findings and treatment of mental disorders in the regional health system.