Study of Common Mental Disorders among Small-Scale Industry Workers in an Urban Slum in North East Delhi, India

Abstract

Introduction: 10% of the world’s population has mild mental disorders, and 1% suffers from severe mental disorders, while in India prevalence rates of common mental disorders range from 6 to 7% and severe mental disorders 1–2%. Mental health of workers affects the productivity of the workplace, with estimates putting these losses to be over 100 million dollars annually.

Objectives
• Screening of common mental disorders among workers working in small-scale industries;
• To determine the socio-demographic and occupational determinants related to mental disorders in workers working in small-scale industries.

Materials and Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study and was conducted among 100 workers of small-scale industries having at least 10 employees in an urban slum of north east Delhi during July to August 2016. Written informed consent was taken from each study participant. A pretested sociodemographic questionnaire and screening tool GHQ-12 (general health questionnaire) and PHQ-SADS (patient’s health questionnaire) was used in the study. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Data of 30 cases was analyzed

Results: On screening for presence of symptoms suggestive of psychological distress and mental disorder using GHQ-12, out of 100 participants almost all (98%) were found to be at risk. About 38% were having low-somatic symptoms while 14% were having symptoms suggestive of mild anxiety and 23% of moderate depression.

Conclusion: The study threw light on prevalence of common mental disorders among small-scale industrial workers and various determinants associated with them.