A Cross-sectional Study of Common Psychiatric Morbidity in Children Aged 5 to 14 Years in an Urban Slum

AIM: Study of the prevalence of common psychiatric disorders in children aged 5 to 14 years in a health post area of an urban slum. OBJECTIVES: (1) To study frequency of specific psychiatric disorders in the study population, (2) To study the relationship between sociodemographic variables and psychiatric morbidity. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The present study was conducted in one of the five health posts of an urban slum, which is a field practice area of the teaching medical institute. It was a cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sample size was estimated by using 20% as a prevalence of psychiatric morbidity which was obtained from previous studies done in developing countries. Household was used as a sampling unit and systematic random sampling method was used for selecting household. Total 257 children aged 5 to 14 years were included in the study. A pre-designed, semi-structured diagnostic interview schedule based on DSM-IV criteria was used for data collection. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The tests of significance used were Chi-square and Logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in this study was 14.8%. Non-organic enuresis, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Conduct disorder, and Mental retardation were identified as the common mental health problems. CONCLUSIONS: Factors like nuclear family, parents not living together, large family size, and positive family history of psychiatric disorder were associated with psychiatric morbidity in children.