An overview of psychiatric disorders in the Arab world: Prevalence, determinants, and state of care

Research on mental health in the Arab world is fragmented. This research was conducted in an effort to consolidate existing knowledge on psychiatric illness in Arab countries and provide a comprehensive picture of mental illness in the Arab world more generally. The available literature on mental health in Arab countries was exhaustively searched and sifted for methodologically sound articles providing information in several key areas. These include: prevalence of mental health disorders (using criteria from the DSM-IV-TR), psychosocial correlates of these disorders, determinants and protective factors, and availability and quality of treatment. Results: Rates of psychiatric diagnoses vary across Arab countries and existing large-scale studies are too sparse to provide a generalized picture for the Arab world. The manifestation and burden of mental illness are influenced by a variety of factors, including biological forces and culture-specific experiences such as war exposure, religion, stigma, and the various qualities of the Arab social fabric. While there is growing awareness of mental health issues in the Arab countries, overall the psychiatrically afflicted population remains underserved due to stigma, lack of access to treatment, a paucity of independent or state-run programs promoting mental health, and lack of resources to invest in psychiatric awareness and care. The evidence base for understanding the state of psychiatric illnesses in the Arab world remains slim. A need for a larger number of epidemiological and cohort studies using standardized, validated measures is noted, and directions for future research are suggested to help improve and inform psychiatric care and policy-making.