title: Psychiatric morbidity among sentenced prisoners: prevalence study in Iran.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, South Kargar Avenue, Tehran 13337, Iran. assadism@sina.tums.ac.ir
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Assadi
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noroozian
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pakravannejad
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yahyazadeh
authors.forename: Shahrokh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aghayan
authors.forename: Seyed Vahid
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Shariat
authors.forename: Seena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fazel
mesh_terms: 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