Prevalence of mental and behavioral disorders in children in Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE: To determine the magnitude of specific mental and behavioural disorders in children in Butajira, southern Ethiopia. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Butajira district, southern Ethiopia. SUBJECTS: Amharic version of the diagnostic instrument for children and adolescents was used to interview parents of 1,477 children. RESULTS: Of the surveyed children 3.5% had at least one or more mental or behavioural disorders. The most frequent diagnoses were anxiety disorders (1.6%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (1.5%) and disruptive behaviour disorders (1.5%). Mood disorders (1%) and elimination disorders (0.8%) were relatively less common. CONCLUSION: The study shows that specific mental and behavioural disorders in these children are significant public health problems.