Prevalence and predictors of common mental disorders among Syrian refugees in Istanbul, Turkey: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

The war in Syria has created the greatest refugee crisis in the 21st century. Turkey hosts the highest number of registered Syrian refugees, who are at increased risk of common mental disorders because of their exposure to war, violence and post-displacement stressors. The aim of this paper is to examine the prevalence and predictors of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among Syrian refugees living in Turkey. MethodsA cross-sectional survey of adult Syrian refugees was conducted between February and May 2018 in Istanbul (Sultanbeyli district). Participants (N=1678) were randomly selected through the registration system of the district municipality. The Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25) was used to measure anxiety and depression and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL-5) assessed posttraumatic stress. Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses were used. ResultsThe prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD were 36.1%, 34.7% and 19.6%, respectively.Comorbidity was high. Regression analyses identified several socio-demographic, health and post-displacement variables that predicted common mental disorders including: being female, facing economic difficulties, previous trauma experience, and unmet need for social support, safety, law and justice. A lifetime history of mental health treatment and problems accessing adequate healthcare were associated with depression and anxiety but not with PTSD.Conclusions Mental disorder symptoms are highly prevalent among Syrian refugees in Turkey. The association with post-displacement factors points to the importance of comprehensive health and social services that can address these social, economic and cultural stressors.

The psychological impacts of COVID-19 related stressors on Syrian refugees in Turkey: The role of resource loss, discrimination, and social support

“…We found a high level of depressive and anxiety symptoms in our sample. Nearly half of the participants met the criteria for probable depression (52.9 %) and anxiety (42.9 %), which is higher than the previously reported prevalence rates among Syrian refugees in Turkey ( Acarturk et al, 2018 , 2021 ) and other hosting countries ( Javanbakht et al, 2019 ; Poole, Hedt-Gauthier, Liao, Raymond, & Bärnighausen, 2018 ; Tinghög et al, 2017 ). Lower education level and unemployment were found to be risk factors to mental health problems as in the other studies ( Porter & Haslam, 2005 ; von Haumeder et al, 2019 ).…”

Post-traumatic growth and its predictors among Syrian refugees in Istanbul: A mental health population survey

“…Turkey currently hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees at roughly 3.6 million ( UNHCR, 2020 ). In Turkey, high rates of PTSD, depression and anxiety have been recorded among Syrian refugees due to exposure to traumatic events, forced displacement, and daily stressors after displacement including social isolation, discrimination, poverty, unemployment, and poor living conditions ( Alpak et al., 2015 ; Acarturk et al., 2020 ). However, the current health system response in Turkey is inadequate, resulting in a high mental health treatment gap ( Fuhr et al., 2019 ; Hendrickx et al., 2020 ).…”

Refugee Mental Health, Global Health Policy, and the Syrian Crisis

“…A WHO household survey across 15 provinces revealed reports of severe or extreme depressive feelings in 17% of adult respondents ( 150 ). In Istanbul, a recent survey found high rates of PTSD (19.6%), depression (34.7%), and anxiety (36.1%) ( 151 ). This study is consistent with other research in that it identifies several key predictive variables, some of which concern aspects of post-displacement.…”