Prevention of mental health in Mexico. Current state and perspectives

In this study we have tried to point out some of the social factors wich ar e influential in the mental health of the Mexican population. On the one ha nd, there is severe social inequality due to an incredibly uneven economic income resulting in 26 million people living in extreme poverty, many of wh om don't have any basic hygenic services. International organizations, such , as the international Laboral Organization (ILO), indicate that the minimu n salary in Mexico only covers 42.3 % of their basic meeds, which reflects in the present state of health of a large sector of the population. Due to the economic problems in Mexico, the general population has three character istics: a limited diet, a cronic desnutrition syndrome and an increase in c ronic degenerative illnesses. On the other hand, the country faces disadven tageous economic competition from its northern neighbors, whose incomes are 5 or 6 times higher. Moreover, Mexico's rate of homicide and kidnapping is high, and delinquency among youngsters has incresed from that of 1996; twe lve youngsters are presented daily to juvenile courts due to their particip ation in robberies, street fights and homicides. Mexican educational standa rs are the lowest among the 26 contries that form The Economic Cooperation and Development Organization (ECDO), and is way behind in financing, scope and quality. At the moment the average number of years of education in Mexi co is 7, and there is 10.6 % illiteracy, wich means that about 10 million p eople can't read or write. Because of these factors, there are severe mental health problems among the Mexican population. A conservative estimate sugests that one out of every five adults living in urban areas suffer some psychiatric disorder, and tha t by 2000, 14 million people will have more or less severe pathological men tal problems. Some of the most frequent and severe mental problems affectin g health will be affective disorders, anxiety crisis, alcoholism, drug depe ndence, nicotinic dependence, family violence, schizophrenia, mental retard ation, epilepsy and suicide. It is estimated that 15.6% of the children bet ween 3 and 12 years old will have psychiatric disorders. Therefore, and because of the lack of specialized people in this county -th ere is a deficit of 2700 psychiatrists from the minimum advised by the WHO- , we consider as a priority the fomation of specialized menial health teams . Psychiatry will face a number of challenges in the next few years. One of t hem is the world social and economic changes, particularly in this country, and the lack of capacity to adjust to them efficiently, with as little cos t as possible, by using both, clinical and technological preventiva measure s. This article suggests the usefulness of adopting primary preventive meas ures not just far costs benefits, but also for using a less complex infraes tructure. One of the chief goals of mental health in the future should be t he creation of especific preventive actions, such as educating parents in b ringing up children within their family enviroment; training teachers to de tect on time any learning disability and conduct disorders, as well as help ing youngsters in their difficult transition from childhood to adolescence, and guiding newlyweds not only in planning their families, but also in cre ating a satisfactory family environment. In order to achieve such goals,the mental health professionals should use d ifferent anti more effective strategies, particularly in people considered vulnerable for alcoholism, drug dependence, and affective disorders. Therefore regional and state strategies should be applied to local problems of wich the local authorities must be fully aware, as well as of the grave consequences of not using psychiatry as a preventiva measure. It is also evident that psychiatrists must assume a more assertive role in preventing mental health problems. But preventive measures may be only developed once the causing-and risk fac tors and the genetic and clinical taxonomy of the mental disorders have bee n clearly identified, and the psychiatrist leading the mental health team, assumes the new role that the present conditions demand from him.