Psychiatric morbidity among sentenced prisoners: prevalence study in Iran.
BACKGROUND
Information on psychiatric morbidity of prisoners has almost entirely been based on research in Western countries and it is uncertain whether these research findings are applicable to other settings.


OBJECTIVE
The primary objective was to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iranian prisoners.


METHODS
Through stratified random sampling, 351 prisoners were interviewed using the clinical version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version.


RESULTS
The majority (88%) of prisoners met DSM-IV criteria for lifetime diagnosis of at least one Axis I disorder and 57% were diagnosed with current Axis I disorders. Opioid dependence (73%) had the highest prevalence among lifetime diagnoses, whereas major depressive disorder (29%) was the most common current diagnosis. Psychopathy was recorded in 23%. Prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders were significantly different among offence categories.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that a substantial burden of psychiatric morbidity exists in the prison population of Iran, with treatment challenges that appear to be different from those observed in inmates in Western countries.
Assadi
Seyed Mohammad
SM
Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, South Kargar Avenue, Tehran 13337, Iran. assadism@sina.tums.ac.ir
Noroozian
Maryam
M
Pakravannejad
Mahdi
M
Yahyazadeh
Omid
O
Aghayan
Shahrokh
S
Shariat
Seyed Vahid
SV
Fazel
Seena
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology