[Prevalence Of Mental Disorders And Addictive Behaviours Among Artisanal Gold Miners In Burkina Faso].

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to evaluate mental disorders and addictive behaviours in gold miners treated in the psychiatry department of the Yalgado Ouédraogo University Hospital in Burkina Faso.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, and analytical study with retrospective recruitment of 174 patients over a 10-year period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software.

RESULTS

The study population was exclusively male and predominantly young, with a mean age of 28.16 +/- 5.79 years. Most patients were single (59.8%) and had a low level of education (58.82%). Acute psychotic disorders (48.85%) and the mental and behavioral disorders related to the use of psychoactive substances (41.38%) were the most common. 78.73% of patients were users of psychoactive substances (PAS). The most used psychoactive substances were tobacco (75.28%), cannabis (62.64%), alcohol (48.27%) and tramadol (32.18%).

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of mental disorders among gold miners has become a real public health problem in Burkina Faso, given the growing number of gold mining sites throughout the country.