Poor Mental Health Status and its Related Socio-Demographic Factors: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: There is still little information regarding mental health status in small communities. Given the various cultural characteristics of individuals in different societies, the purpose of the present study was to determine the rate of poor mental health status and its related socio-demographic factors in a general population. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Gonabad, in north-eastern Iran in 2013. To this end, a 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used to examine mental health status considering a cut off point of 23. The relationship between mental health status and socio-demographic factors were reported in crude (unadjusted) and adjusted odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval. Results: A total number of 800 participants were interviewed (response rate=98%). The mean age was 35.5 (SD +/- 10.6) years old. 49.6% of participants were female, 41.8% of them aged 30 years or younger and 65.9% did not have any academic education. According to the results of GHQ-28, 24.7% of the participants were categorised as poor mental health individuals. Poor mental health status was associated with age, gender, level of education, family size, duration of residency in a neighbourhood, as well as SES status. Conclusion: Mental health status entailed variances due to individual factors as well as socio-economic ones. Accordingly, socio-economic status seemed to play a leading role in enhancing individual's health which could lead to improvements in the level of health in a society. Moreover, these findings suggested that mental health programs should be targeted at women and elderly population through the newly established Family Doctor Plan.