Prevalence of mental and behavioural disorders in Ethiopian children.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the magnitude of specific mental and behavioural disorders in children in Butajira, southern Ethiopia.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Butajira district, southern Ethiopia.

SUBJECTS: Amharic version of the diagnostic instrument for children and adolescents was used to interview parents of 1,477 children.

RESULTS

Of the surveyed children 3.5% had at least one or more mental or behavioural disorders. The most frequent diagnoses were anxiety disorders (1.6%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (1.5%) and disruptive behaviour disorders (1.5%). Mood disorders (1%) and elimination disorders (0.8%) were relatively less common.

CONCLUSION

The study shows that specific mental and behavioural disorders in these children are significant public health problems.