The Prevalence of Symptomatology and Risk Factors in Mental Health in Mexico: The 2016-17 ENCODAT Cohort

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 10;20(4):3109. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043109.

Abstract

There is little recent information about the prevalence of symptomatology of mental health disorders in representative population samples in Mexico. To determine the prevalence of mental health symptoms in Mexico and its comorbidity with tobacco, alcohol, and drug use disorder (SUD), we used the 2016-17 National Survey of Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Use (Encuesta Nacional de Consumo de Drogas, Alcohol y Tabaco, ENCODAT 2016-2017). The data were collected from households using a cross-sectional, stratified, multistage design, with a confidence level of 90% and a response rate of 73.6%. The final sample included 56,877 completed interviews of individuals aged 12-65, with a subsample of 13,130 who answered the section on mental health. Symptoms of mania and hypomania (7.9%), depression (6.4%), and post-traumatic stress (5.7%) were the three main problems reported. Of this subsample, 56.7% reported using a legal or illegal drug without SUD, 5.4% reported SUD at one time on alcohol, 0.8% on tobacco, and 1.3% on medical or illegal drugs, 15.9% reported symptoms related to mental health, and 2.9% comorbidity. The prevalence found is consistent with those reported in previous studies, except for an increase in post-traumatic stress, which is consistent with the country's increase in trauma.

Keywords: Mexican; OCD; prevalence; symptomatology.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders* / epidemiology
  • Mental Health
  • Mexico
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Substance-Related Disorders* / epidemiology

Grants and funding

This study received funding from the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica (Grant No. 23/2015/I), and from the Comisión Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) 2016 Fund for the Development of Scientific Projects to Address National Problems (Grant No. PN22296). The fieldwork of the survey was funded by the Comisión Nacional Contra las Adicciones (CONADIC).