Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the aging population in the northeastern of Iran

Background The prevalence of psychiatric disorders by demographic characteristics in elderly people is poorly understood, at least in the northwest of Iran. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of various psychiatric disorders in the elderly population in East Azerbaijan Province, Tabriz. A total of 1000 aging people were randomly selected from the general population. Data were collected using valid structured instruments and face-to-face interviews by trained psychologists. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID-IV) and Abbreviated Mental Test Questionnaire were used. Chi-square ( χ 2 ) test was used for categorized variables, and an independent T -test was carried out for quantitative variables. Results Overall, 38.5% of the elderly had at least one mental disorder (47.2% women, 27.3% men). The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and any anxiety disorders was 16.6% (22.4% female and 9.3% male) and 16.7% (23.1% female and 8.6% male), respectively. Likewise, the overall prevalence of any depressive symptoms , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and panic disorders were 21.6%, 7%, 5.3%, and 5.9%, respectively. The prevalence of any mental disorder in the first, second, and third quartiles of the socio-economic level was 54.3%, 37%, and 17.8%, respectively. The prevalence of any mental disorders among the marginalized and the non-marginalized population is 55.3 and 31.5%, respectively. Conclusions We found 38.5% (47.2% women, 27.3% men) of the elderly people had any mental disorders, and 21.6% of them had any depressive disorders. The prevalence of mental disorders in elders was almost like adults and middle-aged people in this study. However, the prevalence of mental disorders was higher than in marginalized population and low socio-economic status.