Prevalence of mental disorders among adults in Subtiava, León, Nicaragua

• The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders in the Subtiava district of León, Nicaragua. Two-stage cluster sampling was used to select 219 families (n = 584 persons). The study was carried out in two phases. In the first, probable mental disorder cases were screened using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire. In the second, the diagnoses were confirmed through the Present State Examination questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires had been confirmed in a pilot study. The present study was conducted in October and November 1987, when Nicaragua was still immersed in armed conflict. Construction of a family map made it possible to analyze, through the multiple imputation method, the characteristics of persons who were absent at the time of the interviews or who did not respond. The estimated prevalence percentages and their respective 95% confidence intervals were as follows: neurosis, 7.5% (5.2%-9.8%); depression, 6.2% (2.6%-8.1%); reactive crisis, 3.3% (2.6-6.5%); alcoholism, 5.8% (3.9%-8.9%); organic brain syndrome, 3.9% (1.7%-5.2%); psychosis, 0.5% (0.2%-1.6%); and other disorders, 0.7% (0.2%-1.6%). The estimated overall prevalence of mental disorders in the study population was 27.9%. Disorders were more prevalent among men (30.8%) than women (26.3%). It is concluded that these high estimated prevalences are associated with stress caused by the war.

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