Background. The proportion of children with psychiatric disorders trea
ted in primary care is not known in most developing countries. Method.
In a two-stage epidemiological study, 990 children aged between 7 and
14 years were screened with the parents' version of the Rutter scale.
Of these, a stratified sample of 227 was interviewed jointly with the
ir mothers, using the children's version of the Schedule for Affective
Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS). Results. We obtained a weighted
prevalence of 19.6 +/- 2.5% for the presence of one or more DSM-I[I-R
disorders. Depressive disorders were present in 6.0%, anxiety-related
disorders in 4.7%, and conduct disorders in 6.1%. Conclusion. Psychia
tric disorders in children are common in primary care. Doctors working
at this level of care need the skills to detect and treat them.