Epidemiology of Mental Disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region | Chapter 03 | Current Trends in Medicine and Medical Research Vol. 3
Mental illnesses are complicated and
multi-factorial disorders. This chapter of the book was done to determine the epidemiology
of mental health problems in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). All
electronic databases of studies done concerning mental disorders in the EMR
(during the period from 1990 to 2019)
were searched, scrutinized
and summarized. Results
revealed that EMR
has higher rates of mental disorders compared to other regions of the
world. This finding is mainly due to the unrest situation. The prevalence of
mental illnesses in EMR ranged between 15.6% -35.5% (with higher rates in
nations with complex emergency circumstances). Mental disorders were associated
with 11.9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) during the period from
1990-2013. Palestine, Djibouti and Somalia reported
the highest DALYs
in the region
during such period. Regarding mortality, depression
and schizophrenia resulted
in high mortality
rates. Studies reported that
vulnerable groups to mental
illnesses including females, poor
unmarried individuals, elderly, those suffering from chronic
illnesses, individuals exposed to conflicts or violations of human rights, and
the refugees. Cultures affect mental illnesses in the EMR as stigma attached to
mental disorders is one of the commonest reasons
for not looking
for mental care. On
the other hand,
studies illustrated presence of
inverse associations between
religious level and
some mental illnesses.
Improving mental health promotion
programs, with scaling
up of mental health
services and addressing the barriers against receiving mental care
are recommended. Decreasing stigma attached to people with mental illnesses is
recommended and can be done through mass media, schools, universities, etc.
Conflict resolutions and building mental health capacity of the countries with
conflicts are needed.
Author(s) Details
Nahla Khamis Ibrahim
Professor at Community
Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia &Professor at Epidemiology Department, High Institute of
Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
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