Mental disorders in India: An analysis of epidemiological studies

Fifteen epidemiological studies on psychiatric morbidity in India have been analysed. Prevalence rates far ail mental disorders and five specific diso rders for all-india and six regions have been worked out. The national prev alence rates far 'all mental disorders' arrived at are: 70.5 (rural), 73 (u rban) and 73 (rural + urban) per 1000 population. Prevalence of schizophren ia is 2.5/1000 and this seems to be the only disorder whose prevalence is c onsistent across cultures and over time. Amongst the Indian States, Uttar P radesh has the lowest total morbidity, making it, mentally, the most health y state in India. West Bengal has the highest morbidity rate. Urban morbidi ty in India is 3.5 per cent higher than the rural rate. But rural-urban dif ferences are not consistent for different disease categories. Also, unexpec ted rural-urban differences may be found due to factors such as social netw orking amongst city dwellers on the basis of caste, language, and so on, an d their village linkage. In Hindi specking north India, mental morbidity am ongst factory workers is two and half times that of the nan-industrial urba n inhabitants and five times the rural morbidity. Finally, four large high risk groups have been identified: housewives, the unemployed, the elderly a nd the rank and file factory workers. Suggestions for improving epidemiolog ical studies in India have been made and attention drawn to the need for te sting socially useful hypotheses.