A. Bhagwanjee et al., PREVALENCE OF MINOR PSYCHIATRIC-DISORDERS IN AN ADULT AFRICAN RURAL-COMMUNITY IN SOUTH-AFRICA, Psychological medicine, 28(5), 1998, pp. 1137-1147
Background. This paper reports on a two-stage community-based epidemio
logical study of selected minor psychiatric disorders conducted on an
adult African population in South Africa. Methods. Using a modified ra
ndom cluster sampling method, 354 adults were identified as the first-
stage sample, with the SRQ-20 being used as a first-stage screen. Clin
ical interviews based on DSM-IV checklists for generalized anxiety dis
order, major depression and dysthymia were administered as the second-
stage criterion to 81 subjects from the sample. Results. The weighted
prevalence for generalised anxiety and depressive disorders was 23.9 %
(95% CI 15.1%-32.7%), comprising: generalized anxiety 3.7%, major dep
ression 4.8%, dysthymia 7.3 %, and major depression and dysthymia 8.2%
. Statistically significant associations were found between caseness a
nd age, marital status, employment, income and educational level. Conc
lusions. The results are discussed in relation to comparative local an
d international data as well as in the context of the current restruct
uring of the mental-health care system in South Africa from tertiary c
urative care to integrated primary mental-health care.