Postpartum mental illness: perspectives from an Arabian Gulf population.

There is growing awareness of the importance of mental health issues in the perinatal period in Western societies, but very little information is available from Muslim and Arab countries. Qualitative information gathered using focus group discussions of women of childbearing age is presented along with additional information obtained from key informant interviews with grandmothers, husbands, and health care professionals in the United Arab Emirates. The participants were women attending a public sector clinic in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, and a private clinic in Dubai on a particular day.

Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of global developmental delay in 3-year-old children in the United Arab Emirates.

Objective: Developmental disabilities are lifelong conditions with considerable public health impact, incurring substantial financial and societal costs. Data on prevalence and associated factors can provide the basis for setting priorities and designing interventions.

Methods: A representative random sample of 694 United Arab Emirates national children aged 3 years were evaluated in a two-stage epidemiological study.

Help-seeking for mental health problems of children: preferences and attitudes in the United Arab Emirates.

Parental attitudes, religious beliefs, and other sociocultural factors have all been recognized to influence help-seeking patterns in relation to child psychiatric morbidity. But few systematic studies have addressed this issue in the Arab region. In this study, we investigated the help-seeking preferences for mental health problems in a community sample.

Profile of mental disorders among the elderly United Arab Emirates population: sociodemographic correlates.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, nature and sociodemographic correlates of mental disorders among the elderly United Arab Emirates (UAE) population. STUDY SUBJECTS AND SAMPLE: UAE nationals aged 60 years or more, were recruited from within a random sample of households representing the UAE national population, irrespective of the age of individuals in each household. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS: (i) Geriatric Mental State Interview (GMS-A3): an Arabic version, using the AGECAT for analysis; (ii) A short questionnaire for relevant sociodemographic data.

Al Ain community survey of psychiatric morbidity II. Sex differences in the prevalence of depressive disorders.

Aim: To examine sex differences in the prevalence of depressive disorders in an Arab community.

Methods: One thousand three hundred and ninety-four subjects (n=1394) were systematically sampled from the general population in Al-Ain city, United Arab Emirates. All subjects were interviewed and assessed with the modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and a specially designed socio-demographic questionnaire.