Psychiatric morbidity among sentenced prisoners: prevalencestudy in Iran

BackgroundInformation on psychiatric morbidity of prisoners has almost entirelybeen based on research in Western countries and it is uncertain whetherthese research findings are applicable to other settings.AimsThe primary objective was to investigate the prevalence of psychiatricdisorders in Iranian prisoners.MethodThrough stratified random sampling, 351 prisoners were interviewed usingthe clinical version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IVAxisI Disorders and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version.ResultsThe majority (88%) of prisoners met DSM – IV criteria for lifetimediagnosis of at least one Axis I disorder and 57% were diagnosed withcurrent Axis I disorders. Opioid dependence (73%) had the highestprevalence among lifetime diagnoses, whereas major depressive disorder(29%) was the most common current diagnosis. Psychopathy was recorded in23%. Prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders were significantlydifferent among offence categories.ConclusionsThe results suggest that a substantial burden of psychiatric morbidityexists in the prison population of Iran, with treatment challenges thatappear to be different from those observed in inmates in Westerncountries.