Archives of Hellenic Medicine

Last update:

23-Jul-2008

Arch Hellen Med, 2007, 24(Supplement 1):30-36

ORIGINAL PAPER

Prevalence and sociodemographic associations of psychiatric morbidity
in rural communities of the North Aegean

P. SKAPINAKIS,¹ A. ZISSI,² M. SAVIDΟU,² M. TSELΟNI,³ M. CHIΟU²
¹Department of Psychiatry, University of Ioannina, School of Medicine, Ioannina,
²Department of Sociology, University of the Aegean, Greece,
³School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

OBJECTIVE The present paper aims to study the epidemiology of psychiatric morbidity of people living in small rural communities of the North Aegean. The paper aims to present data on the prevalence of common mental disorders and their association with socio-demographic variables.

METHOD This is a cross sectional survey of all rural communities (n=89) of the North Aegean region of Greece that met the following criteria: population 2,000 or less and at least 33% of the heads of households working as farmers. Psychiatric morbidity was measured with the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R), a fully structured psychiatric interview.

RESULTS The study included 428 participants (48% men and 52% women). Mean age was 43 (range: 18-69). Fourteen percent of the study population (19% women vs 9% men, P=0.003) had clinical significant psychiatric morbidity. The statistical analysis showed that women were significantly more likely to report psychiatric morbidity. From the socio-economic status variables studied, income showed a positive association (more income was associated with more symptoms) and car or truck ownership an inverse relationship (more cars less symptoms).

CONCLUSIONS The present study reports for the first time the prevalence of clinical significant psychiatric morbidity in rural communities of the Aegean.

Key words: Cross sectional surveys, Prevalence, Psychiatric morbidity.