The prevalence and associations of psychiatric disorder in children in Kerala, South India

This study aimed to identify the prevalence and associations of childhood p sychiatric disorder in Calicut District, South India. Among 1403 children a ged 8 to 12 years selected by random cluster sampling, a projected prevalen ce of 9.4 % (95 % CI 7.9-10.8 %) was found. Associations of disorder with m ale sex, the Muslim religion, lower social class, less parental education, school failure, and impaired reading and vocabulary were found, but not wit h malnutrition or perinatal problems. The similarity to associations of dis order in Western studies was noted. The discussion focuses on the validity of comparisons of prevalence across cultures.