The epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in Africa: a scoping review

Greene, M. Claire; Yangchen, Tenzin; Lehner, Thomas; Sullivan, Patrick F.; Pato, Carlos N.; McIntosh, Andrew M.; Walters, James; Gouveia, Lídia; Msefula, Chisomo; Fumo, Wilza; Sheikh, Taiwo Lateef; Stockton, Melissa; Wainberg, Milton L.; Weissman, Myrna M.

doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(21)00009-2

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 100 publications

(351 reference statements)

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“…Supporting the validity of these studies, a similar prevalence of bipolar disorder, a condition with important genetic determination, has been reported between Africa and Western countries ( 4 ). Indeed, the understanding of subjective experiences as well as the particularities of social organization across different cultures can be confounding factors in the diagnosis of depressive and anxiety disorders, which would explain the discrepancy in prevalence found in this study ( 3 – 6 ).…”

Section: From Epidemiological Evidencesupporting

confidence: 70%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Does contemporary Western culture play a role in mental disorders?

Abramov

Peixoto²

2022

Front. Psychiatry

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Section: From Epidemiological Evidencesupporting

confidence: 70%

“…While 47.4 and 39.3% of the populations from the USA and New Zealand, respectively, have a history of mental disorder, Nigeria shows the lowest prevalence (12.0%) among countries. Other epidemiological studies somehow confirm the low prevalence of mental disorders, e.g., depression and anxiety, in African countries compared to the Western world(4)(5)(6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 77%

Does contemporary Western culture play a role in mental disorders?

Abramov

Peixoto²

2022

Front. Psychiatry

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“…As with the other two disorders, psychotic disorders do not seem to be related to cysticercosis seropositivity either. Psychotic disorders are understudied in Africa, as revealed by a recent scoping review [47], that found only nine studies in which the prevalence of psychotic disorders was analysed in Africa from 1984 to 2020. The available reports describe a prevalence ranging from 1% to 4.4% in rural regions.…”

Section: Cysticercosis Serology and Neuropsychiatric Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The burden of T. solium cysticercosis and selected neuropsychiatric disorders in Mocuba district, Zambézia province, Mozambique

Langa

Padama²,

Nhancupe

et al. 2022

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Background Taenia solium (neuro-)cysticercosis is a neglected tropical disease often associated with epileptic seizures and reportedly with other neuropsychiatric (= neurological and psychiatric) disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the association of the disease with selected neuropsychiatric disorders and/or symptoms (chronic headache, epileptic seizures/epilepsy and psychosis) in Mocuba district, Mozambique. Methodology Between March and May 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,086 participants aged 2 years or above in Mocuba district, Zambézia province, central Mozambique to assess the seroprevalence of human cysticercosis and risk factors for infection, as well as to explore its relation to selected neuropsychiatric disorders. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from each participant using a modified questionnaire designed by the Cysticercosis Working Group for Eastern and Southern Africa. Additionally, neuropsychiatric disorders, such as chronic headache, epileptic seizures/epilepsy and psychosis were assessed using four vignettes. T. solium antigen and cysticercosis IgG in serum were detected using both T. solium antigen B158/B60 enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and LDBIO Cysticercosis Western Blot, respectively. Principal findings Overall, 112/1,086 participants (10.3%) were sero-positive for T. solium antigen or antibodies. Prevalence of antibodies (6.6%; n = 72) was higher than of antigens (4.9%; n = 54). In the questionnaires, 530 (49.5%) of participants reported chronic headache, 293 (27%) had generalized epileptic seizures, 188 (18%) focal seizures and 183 (18.3%) psychosis. We found a statistically significant association between seropositivity for T. solium and chronic headache (p = 0.013). Additionally, increasing age (p = 0.03) was associated with Ag-ELISA seropositivity. Conclusions Our study revealed that in Mocuba, T. solium cysticercosis is prevalent and associated with self-reported chronic headache. Additionally, in the study setting, the seroprevalence of cysticercosis increased with age. However, it is not associated with other neuropsychiatric disorders such epileptic seizures/epilepsy and psychosis. Future studies are needed to confirm the burden of neuropsychiatric disorders and their possible etiology, including neurocysticercosis, with additional serological, molecular biological and radiological diagnostic tools, as well as in-depth clinical examinations.

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“…Among the factors that exacerbate the mental health situation in African countries is the negative attitude toward mental health that often takes the form of a poor understanding of mental health and stigmatization (Crabb et al, 2012). Due to the scarcity of research on the attitude toward mental health, several views have suggested that African countries are less impacted by stigma (Sewilam et al, 2014; however, recent studies discredited the perception and have shown the presence of stigma and its impact in various African countries such as Morocco and Ethiopia (Greene et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of mental health literacy intervention on in-service teachers’ knowledge attitude and self-efficacy

Bichoualne,

Oubibi,

Rong

2023

Camb. prisms Glob. ment. health

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Mental health literacy (MHL) is an essential component in the process of de-stigmatization, promoting mental health, and supporting people struggling with mental illness. Today, as the number of people suffering from mental illnesses is nearly 450 million people worldwide, the importance of having a teacher-training program that incorporates MHL in its curriculum has become paramount. This study is a quasi-experimental pre–post research that uses the MHL program as an intervention. The sample included 36 (n = 36) high school in-service teachers from 11 schools. The participants took an online training program for 6 weeks. The evaluations were used before and after the training to assess their mental health knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy. The data were analyzed using the paired sample t-test. The findings revealed a significant level of improvement in relation to the teachers’ MHL knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy after the training. The study findings reveal the effectiveness of MHL training in improving in-service teachers’ knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy in relation to mental health. The study’s limitations and future study recommendations are discussed.

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The epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in Africa: a scoping review

Cited by 21 publications

References 100 publications

Does contemporary Western culture play a role in mental disorders?

Does contemporary Western culture play a role in mental disorders?

The burden of T. solium cysticercosis and selected neuropsychiatric disorders in Mocuba district, Zambézia province, Mozambique

The impact of mental health literacy intervention on in-service teachers’ knowledge attitude and self-efficacy

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