Prevalence and predictors for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and general health in a population from six villages in South Lebanon

• Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2012-04, Vol.47 (4), p.639-649
• Main Authors: Farhood, Laila F., Dimassi, Hani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Depressive Disorder - ethnology; Depressive Disorder - prevention & control; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Epidemiology; Female; Gender; Health; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Lebanon - epidemiology; Life Change Events; Life Style - ethnology; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Middle Aged; Military occupation; Mood disorders; Motor Activity; Original Paper; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - ethnology; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology; Post traumatic stress disorder; Prevalence; Psychiatric-mental health nursing; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Religion; Reproducibility of Results; Sex Factors; Social Class; Social networks; Social Support; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - ethnology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - prevention & control; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Trauma; War; Warfare
• ISSN: 0933-7954; 1433-9285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00127-011-0368-6

Objective To determine the prevalence and predictors of psychiatric disorders in a general population from South Lebanon, an area that was under military occupation for more than 20 years. Method This study assessed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression thresholds along with general health (GHQ) among 625 citizens in six villages in South Lebanon using a cross-sectional design through random sampling. Results The prevalence ranged from 17.6 to 33.3% for PTSD and from 9.2 to 19.7% for depression. GHQ total score was found to be 6.7 significantly greater than the internationally established mean score of 5.0. Social support, financial resources, gender, and war exposure were significantly related to PTSD and depression thresholds. Conclusion The results strongly suggest that the general population in South Lebanon suffer from mental health disorders calling for appropriate psychiatric interventions and development planning.