Major mental disorders in Butajira, Southern Ethiopia

Previous studies conducted in Ethiopia lack information on the prevalence of specific mental disorders in rural communities. The lifetime and one-month prevalence of specific ICD-10 mental disorders and their associated socio-demographic factors were determined using the translated Amharic version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) in a rural population. A total of 501 community subjects selected from a predominantly rural district by stratified random sampling were interviewed by non-clinician interviewers. The weighted aggregate lifetime prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 31.8% (26.7% when substance dependence was not included).The most frequent specific diagnoses were: dissociative disorders (6.3%), mood disorders (6.2%), somatoform disorders (5.9%), and anxiety disorders (5.7%). After adjustment in a multivariate logistic model, female sex was shown to have a statistically significant association with mood disorders (Odds Ratio, OR = 3.84, 95% CI: 1.90, 7.73) and somatoform disorders (OR=2.30, 95% CI: 1.13, 4.60). Severe cognitive and mood disorders were significantly associated with being elderly, i.e. 60 or more years of age (OR=7.71, 95% CI: 1.58, 7.53; and OR=3.68, 95% CI=1.36, 9.95, respectively). Khat dependence was associated with being Muslim and with earning a low income. (OR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.02, 11.98; and OR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.96, respectively). It is concluded that psychiatric morbidity is a major public health problem in the rural community. © Munksgaard 1999.